Today's Highlights
| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
disburse
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Articles Used with Vowel Sounds vs. Consonant SoundsWe use the indefinite article "a" when it precedes a word beginning with a consonant sound. Which article do we use before a word beginning with a vowel sound? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The KaabaIslam's holiest place, the Kaaba—whose name is derived from the Arabic word for "cube"—is a cuboid stone building located in the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. When performing their daily prayers, Muslims around the world turn to face the Kaaba, whose four corners correspond roughly to the points of the compass. Although the Kaaba is surrounded by a restricted area that can only be entered by Muslims, the structure itself predates Islam. What did the Kaaba represent to pre-Islamic Meccans? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Empress Elizabeth of Austria Is Assassinated (1898)Renowned for her beauty, Elizabeth of Bavaria married her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, but disliked the rigid etiquette of the Viennese court. She therefore spent much of her life wandering abroad. In 1898, an Italian anarchist stabbed the 60-year-old empress in the chest with a sharpened file while she was travelling in Geneva, killing her. Her domestic life is said to been an unhappy one, marred by family tragedies like the death of her only son in what sensational incident? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Hilda Doolittle, AKA H.D. (1886)Born in Pennsylvania, Doolittle traveled to Europe in 1911 and stayed there the rest of her life. In England, under the influence of Ezra Pound, she became associated with the imagists and developed into one of the most original poets of the group. She combined classical themes with modernist techniques to create clear, impersonal, sensuous verse. Doolittle, who became an icon of the gay-rights and feminist movements after her death, was once involved in a love triangle with what other writers? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 We called him Tortoise because he taught us.Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
scream (one's) head off— To scream or yell very loudly and lengthily. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Gibraltar National Day (2025)On September 10, 1967, the people of Gibraltar participated in a national referendum and rejected the option to pass under Spanish Control. Since 1967, Gibraltarians have commemorated the referendum date. In recent years, events leading up to the momentous day have included dance performances, military band concerts, and a governor's parade. On National Day, people typically dress in the national colors of red and white. A popular tradition is the ceremonial release of 30,000 red and white balloons, each representing an individual living on the rock. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: tribelow man - On an actual totem pole, it is really the most important man in the tribe. More... tribe - From Latin tribus, it may refer to the three divisions of early Romans, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. More... tribunal - Originally referred to a seat or raised platform for judges, from Latin tribunus, "head of a tribe." More... cannibal - When Columbus was trying to find the Spice Islands, he was told of a tribe of man-eating natives in Cuba and Haiti called Caribs (from which we get Caribbean) or Caniba (Columbus' rendition of the name); the word canib, meaning "brave and fierce," became cannibal, meaning "anthropophagite," a person who eats human flesh. More... | |
| Match Up | |
|---|---|
| Mismatch | |
|---|---|