Daily Content Archive

(as of Sunday, January 5, 2020)
Word of the Day

calumnious

Definition:(adjective) (Used of statements) Harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign.
Synonyms:defamatory, denigrating, libelous, slanderous
Usage: He concluded by calling for an investigation, which might dispose of the calumnious report before it had time to spread.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Complex Sentences

Complex sentences are made up of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. What introduces and links the dependent clause to the independent clause? More...
Article of the Day

Maglev

Magnetic levitation, or maglev, is a method of supporting and propelling objects using magnets. Using the repellent force of superconductive magnets, vehicles, such as trains, may be suspended above a track or guideway. Continuously changing the polarity in alternate magnets causes a series of magnetic attractions and repulsions, which moves the vehicle along the track quickly and quietly. What is the highest recorded speed of a maglev train? More...
This Day in History

Louis XV of France Survives Assassination Attempt (1757)

Louis XV was king of France from 1715 to 1774. An orphan from age three, Louis succeeded to the throne upon the death of his great-grandfather Louis XIV, under the regency of the duke of Orléans. In 1757, the unpopular king was stabbed in the side by Robert Damiens. Convinced he was dying, Louis called for a confessor and begged his wife to forgive his infidelities. The small blade had, however, done little damage, and the king survived. How did Voltaire mock the king's allegedly shallow wound? More...
Today's Birthday

Alvin Ailey, Jr. (1931)

American choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey, Jr., formed his own company, the American Dance Theater—now called the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater—in 1958. Multiracial since 1963, Ailey's dance company has been internationally acclaimed and has brought recognition to many African-American and Asian dancers. His works, influenced by jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and modern dance, explore a wide range of black experience, from gospel music to social inequality. What is his most popular work? More...
Quotation of the Day
It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by providence as an evil to mankind.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Idiom of the Day

hot desking

The act or practice of sharing desks or workstations between employees in an office so as to cut down on the amount of office space required. More...
Today's Holiday

Epiphany Eve (2024)

Also known in Austria as the Vigil of Epiphany, there is traditionally a special feast on this night during which an Epiphany cake is served. Three beans are concealed in the cake—two white, one black—and whoever finds a bean gets to dress up as one of the Three Wise Men or Holy Kings. The one with the black bean dresses up as the African king, Balthasar, by rubbing his face with soot or shoe polish. On Epiphany Day the three kings are the guests of honor at the table. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: removal

beheadment - The removal of an initial letter of a word to form a new word (e.g. blather becomes lather). More...

curtailment - The removal of the last letter of a word to leave another word (e.g. goon becomes goo). More...

detail - Comes from French de-, "removal," and tailler, "cut in pieces," and means "to relate or describe minutely." More...

water softening - The removal of calcium and magnesium ions from water, or their replacement with sodium, either by chemical reaction or by ion exchange. More...

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