Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 1, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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squalor
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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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 | |
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 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 | |
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 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Takes Effect (1994)Signed by Canada, Mexico, and the US, NAFTA created the world's largest free-trade area. The agreement immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations, and it called for the gradual elimination of most of the remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and services among the three countries. Critics claim that NAFTA has led to job loss in the US due to the prevalence of maquiladoras, which are what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Stieglitz (1864)Stieglitz was the first art photographer in the US. More than any other American, he compelled the recognition of photography as a fine art. After editing a series of photography magazines, he established the famous gallery "291" in New York City. The gallery soon broadened its scope from fine-art photography and introduced to the US works by members of the modern French art movement, including Cézanne and Picasso. It also exhibited the works of what American artist whom Stieglitz later married? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 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 | |
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go through a phase— To experience or be in the midst of a temporary period of change, development, or fluctuation. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bom Jesus dos Navegantes (2017)In Salvador, Brazil, the festival known as Bom Jesus dos Navegantes is celebrated on New Year's Day. A procession of small boats decorated with flags and streamers carries a statue of the Lord Jesus of Seafarers from the main harbor to the outlying beach of Boa Viagem. Thousands of spectators line Salvador's beaches to catch a glimpse of the spectacle. According to legend, sailors participating in the event will never die by drowning. A similar procession takes place on the same day in Angra dos Reis, 90 miles south of Rio de Janeiro. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: refrainballade - A verse or poem made up of three stanzas of equal length with a recurrent line or refrain at the end of each of the stanzas. More... condone - From Latin condonare, "refrain from punishing," it does not mean "approve of, endorse"; it means "let something pass without interference even though you probably disapprove," or "pardon, forgive, overlook." More... burden, refrain, chorus - The burden is the main theme or gist of a speech, book, or argument—or the refrain or chorus of a song. More... deport - The earliest sense of deport was "bear with; refrain." More... | |