Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, December 20, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
valuate
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Describing a Future Fact with the Future Simple TenseThe future simple tense can be used in a few different ways to describe things that have not happened yet. What is the verb in future simple tense in the following sentence? "I will drive to work tomorrow, if you want a ride." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 LampworkingUnlike the technique of glassblowing, in which a blob of molten glass is made hollow by blowing into it through a tube, lampworking involves heating small rods of colored glass over a lamp or torch, then shaping the glass with handheld tools. It is used to make glass beads, paperweights, and other small items. The practice developed in Italy during the Renaissance, and in later centuries was used to produce popular trinkets in France. Fumes from vaporized gold can give the glass what color? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Spanish Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco Is Assassinated (1973)When Spanish leader Francisco Franco appointed Carrero Blanco to the office of prime minister in 1973, the new premier was expected to uphold Franco's regime—including a plan to eventually restore the Spanish monarchy. Months later, Carrero Blanco was killed by a bomb that exploded under his car as he was leaving mass in Madrid. Though Spain may have moved closer to democracy after Carrero Blanco's death, that was not necessarily the intended goal of the bombing. Who was responsible for it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Edwin Abbott (1838)Abbott was an English theologian, schoolmaster, and author. He wrote educational textbooks, theological works, and a biography of Francis Bacon, and his 1870 Shakespearian Grammar became a permanent fixture of English philology. However, his most famous work is a playfully inventive 1884 novella best described as "mathematical fiction." The humorous and satirical tale has enjoyed an enduring popularity, particularly among mathematicians and students. What is the name of the novella? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Even in a minute instance, it is best to look first to the main tendencies of Nature. A particular flower may not be dead in early winter, but the flowers are dying; a particular pebble may never be wetted with the tide, but the tide is coming in.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
to a turn— For exactly the right amount of time necessary or desired (used almost exclusively in reference to how well meat is cooked). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Halcyon Days (2025)The ancient Greeks called the seven days preceding and the seven days following the Winter Solstice the "Halcyon Days." Greek mythology has it that Halcyone (or Alcyone), Ceyx's wife and one of Aeolus's daughters, drowned herself when she learned her husband had drowned. The gods took pity on her and transformed them both into kingfishers. Zeus commanded the seas to be still during these days, and it was considered a period when sailors could navigate in safety. Today, the expression "halcyon days" has come to mean a period of tranquillity, often used as a nostalgic reference to times past. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: shockingchurch key - Started out as slang for bottle opener in the early 1950s and was considered mildly shocking, even sacrilegious. More... flagrant, blatant - Flagrant implies shocking and reprehensible, while blatant is obvious, contrived, and usually obnoxious; flagrant is a stronger term than blatant. More... forbysen, bysen - Forbysen is an "example or parable"; bysen is a "shocking thing." More... tingle - From Middle English, possibly a variant of tinkle, its original meaning was "response to a loud noise" and "response to hearing something shocking." More... | |