Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 12, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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danseuse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining VoiceVoice is a grammatical feature that describes the relationship between the verb and the subject in a sentence. There are two main types of voice: active voice and passive voice. There is also a third type of voice that is less commonly used. What is it called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Salman RushdieRushdie is a British-Indian novelist known for the allusive richness of his language and the wide variety of Eastern and Western characters and cultures he explores. After his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses was deemed sacrilegious, Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or legal ruling, sentencing him to death. Rushdie was forced into hiding, where he wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories, a novelistic allegory against censorship. What is the fatwa's current status? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nazi Commandos Rescue Imprisoned Benito Mussolini (1943)In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed by his own government. When German forces discovered that he was being held at a ski resort in the Apennine Mountains, they launched a daring rescue. Arriving on gliders, German troops overwhelmed Mussolini's captors and spirited him away without firing a shot. The operation was a major propaganda success for the Nazis. According to some accounts, what was Mussolini's reply when the paratroopers told him that Adolf Hitler had sent them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred A. Knopf (1892)Knopf was a leading American publisher of the 20th century who founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., in 1915. He emphasized translations of great contemporary European literature, at that time neglected by American publishers, and paid special attention to the printing, binding, and design of his books, earning a reputation as a purist in both content and presentation. By the time of his death, authors published by the firm had won 16 Nobel and 27 Pulitzer prizes. What was his colophon? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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canary in a coal mine— Something or someone who, due to sensitivity to his, her, or its surroundings, acts as an indicator and early warning of possible adverse conditions or danger. Refers to the former practice of taking caged canaries into coal mines. The birds would die if methane gas became present and thereby alert miners to the danger. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt (2015)Although called Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt, or Sausage Fair, this is actually Germany's biggest wine festival—the name is said to have originated about 150 years ago because of the immense amounts of sausage consumed. The opening day of the festival features a concert and a procession of bands, vineyard proprietors, and tapsters of the tavern stalls with decorated wine floats. The following days are a medley of fireworks, band playing, dancing, and singing through the night. Wine is served in glasses called Schoppen that hold about a pint. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: signatureallograph - A signature or writing done for another person. More... moniker - Originally meant a mark left by a tramp on a building or fence to indicate he/she had been there; therefore, a tramp's moniker identified him/her like a signature. More... signature block - The typed or printed name and title of a person appearing below a signature at the bottom of a letter, e-mail, etc. More... paraph - As a verb, to divide into paragraphs; the noun can mean a flourish made after a signature, especially to make it unique. More... | |