Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, September 7, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Comparative AdjectivesWhen using comparative adjectives, the two nouns that are being compared can both appear in the sentence. This is the case if there is any chance of the listener or reader being confused by what you're talking about. When we need to mention both nouns, what structure do we follow? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Gap YearAfter completing high school or college, more and more students around the world are opting to take a year off to travel before continuing their education or entering the workplace. Known as a gap year, among many other names, the prolonged break—often but not always lasting a year—is usually spent working, learning a language, volunteering, or combining activities into a so-called working holiday. In what countries is the gap year less popular? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Tupac Shakur Is Shot (1996)In 1996, Shakur, an American rap star and actor, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting while stopped at a red light on the Las Vegas strip. He died six days later. The 25-year-old Shakur had been involved in a violent rivalry between the East and West Coast rap scenes and had survived another shooting less than two years earlier. His killer has never been identified. However, some suspect that it was a man who had been in a public altercation with Shakur hours before the shooting—who? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jacob Lawrence (1917)Lawrence was a leading black artist who portrayed African-American life, experience, and history with vivid, stylized realism. He was only in his twenties when his series depicting the migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North thrust him into the national spotlight. His use of somber browns and black for shadows and outlines in an otherwise vibrant palette lends his work a distinctive overtone, as does his flat painting style. Where can one view his last public work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 No man knocks himself down; if his destiny knocks him down, his destiny must pick him up again.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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run wild— To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of Piedigrotta (2025)Held in Naples, Italy, in September, the Festival of Piedigrotta is known primarily for its noise and gaiety. According to one legend, it commemorates the destruction in 44 CE of a site that had formerly been the scene of pagan orgies, and the building of a chapel in its place. A second explanation is that the chapel was built in 1356 after the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared to a priest, a nun, and a man named Peter and ordered its construction. In any case, the festival is a particularly joyful one, with processions, fireworks, and some very unusual puppet shows. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wastewastrel - Pronounced WAYS-trul, it is either a wasteful or worthless person, derived from the verb "waste," from Latin vastus, "desert, waste." More... bratwurst - From German Brat, "meat without waste," and Wurst, "sausage." More... eat your heart out - Goes back as far as Diogenes Laertius, who credited Pythagoras with saying "Do not eat your heart"—meaning "Don't waste your life worrying about something"—2,500 years ago. More... sullage - Waste from household sinks, showers, and baths—but not toilets; it also figuratively means filth or refuse. More... | |