Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 1, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
squalor
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Adjectives after the NounWhile attributive adjectives are generally found before the noun they modify, especially in simple sentences, there are also many cases in which they are placed immediately after the noun. What are these adjectives called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Ticker-Tape ParadesTicker-tape parades were originated in New York City by Grover Whalen, the city's official greeter from 1919 to 1953. The welcome ceremonies he staged for Charles Lindbergh and returning soldiers from both world wars, among others, featured a festive snow of confetti—originally ticker-tape from stockbrokers' offices in lower Manhattan—thrown onto the parade from the tall buildings along the route. Today the parades most often fete sports champions. What is the "Canyon of Heroes"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Times Square Ball Drops for the First Time (1908)In 1904, The New York Times moved its headquarters to what is now known as Times Square. That December, it held a New Year's Eve celebration that proved to be quite popular. A few years later, the newspaper created an illuminated time ball—then a well-known dockside device by which sailors set their ships' clocks—that would fall at midnight. The annual ball-drop outlived both the newspaper's address on the square and the use of time balls in general. What was Times Square's original name? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (1919)Salinger published his first and only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, in 1951. An immediate success, it generated a cult-like dedication among readers. Though he also released a handful of short story collections, Salinger ceased publishing after 1963 and spent the rest of his life as a recluse in Cornish, New Hampshire. After his death in 2010, rumors swirled that he had left behind a number of finished works. According to one of Salinger's neighbors, how many novels did he complete? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 I saw a creature, naked, bestial,Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it. Stephen Crane (1871-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
jack it in— To quit or abandon something, especially an endeavor or enterprise. Can also be worded as "jack in something." Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Feast of St. Basil (2021)New Year's Day and the feast day for Agios Vasilis (St. Basil) are one and the same in Greece and Cyprus, and for all Orthodox Christians. Celebrations begin on New Year's Eve when Agios Vasilis is believed to visit each house. On New Year's Day, a cake called the Vassilopita, or "St. Basil's bread," is ceremoniously sliced, according to varying traditions going back to Byzantine times. A coin has been baked in the cake, and the person finding the coin will be the luckiest member of the family that year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: weavenettles - Got their name because people used to weave them into nets. More... pretext - From Latin praetexere, "to disguise," from prae, "in front," and texere, "weave"—as something serving to conceal plans. More... texture - Once referred to a woven fabric, from Latin texere, "to weave." More... wasp - The insect traces back to an Indo-European root meaning "weave." More... | |