Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, November 22, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Nouns of AddressNouns of address (also known as vocatives, nominatives of address, or nouns of direct address) identify the person or group being directly spoken to. Like interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener or reader know who you are addressing, or to do what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Jesse JamesJames was an outlaw who became a legendary figure in American folklore. After the Civil War, he and a number of other former Confederate guerillas banded together to rob banks, trains, and stagecoaches across several states. He was later betrayed by fellow bandit Robert Ford, who shot him in 1882 in order to receive a $10,000 reward. Despite the fact that James is thought to have shot 15 people, his exploits led to a number of romanticized legends, including rumors that he survived until when? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Blackbeard Killed in Battle with Royal Navy (1718)Before turning to piracy, Blackbeard, whose real name was probably Edward Teach, likely worked as a privateer in the War of the Spanish Succession. While marauding in the West Indies and along the Atlantic coast, Blackbeard enjoyed the protection of North Carolina's governor—who partook of the booty. A British naval force eventually killed Blackbeard and took his head back to England as proof. Legend has since romanticized the notoriously cruel pirate. When was his wrecked ship rediscovered? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles de Gaulle (1890)De Gaulle was a French general and statesman. He left France after it fell to the Germans in WWII and started the Free French movement in England. He returned to France after the liberation of Paris and headed two provisional governments before resigning in 1946. When an insurrection in Algeria threatened to bring civil war to France, he returned to government, helped establish the Fifth Republic, and became its first president in 1958. What was his role in the "Empty Chair Crisis"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Congratulation, n.: The civility of envy.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?— A rhetorical question calling attention to a non-sequitur or irrelevant statement or suggestion made by another person. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Cecilia's Day (2023)According to her apocryphal acts, which date from the fifth century, St. Cecilia was a Roman from a noble family who was put to death for her Christian beliefs; how she became the patron saint of music and musicians is not exactly known. In 1683, a musical society was formed in London especially for the celebration of St. Cecilia's Day. It held a festival each year at which a special ode was sung. The poet John Dryden composed his "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" in 1687 for this purpose. There are still many choirs and musical societies that bear her name today. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: keyboardfallboard - The hinged protective covering that protects the keyboard of a piano when it is not being played. More... finger board - The part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the strings to vary the tone—as well as the keyboard of a piano, organ, etc. More... home key - The home key is either of two keys on a keyboard acting as the base position for one's fingers in touch-typing (left F, right J). More... octothorpe - The pound key on a keyboard or keypad is technically an octothorpe. More... | |