Daily Content Archive

(as of Wednesday, May 12, 2021)
Word of the Day

crabbed

Definition:(adjective) Irritable and perverse in disposition; ill-tempered.
Synonyms:fussy, grouchy, grumpy, cross
Usage: I first put out my tacky lawn ornaments as a practical joke, but after my persnickety, crabbed neighbor lodged a complaint about them, I dug my heels in and refused to take them down.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Negative Adverbs Meaning "Not Often" or "Not Ever"

Negative adverbs and negative adverbials are used to modify the meaning of a verb, adjective, other adverb, or entire clause in a negative way. When we want to stress how infrequently something occurs, what negative adverbs can we use? More...
Article of the Day

Status Quo Ante Bellum

The Latin term status quo—literally "the state in which"—is commonly, and often casually, used to refer to an existing state of affairs. However, when the words ante bellum are tacked on to the end of the phrase, it is transformed into a very specific and weighty legal principle relating to the cessation of international hostilities. When belligerent parties negotiating a peace treaty agree to the principle of status quo ante bellum, they are consenting to do what? More...
This Day in History

North American Aerospace Defense Command Founded (1958)

North American Aerospace Defense Command, commonly abbreviated NORAD, is a bi-national command of the US and Canada that maintains the sovereignty of North American airspace by providing aerospace surveillance as well as warning and assessment of aerospace attacks. Headquartered deep inside Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, NORAD was formed in 1958 during the Cold War to provide security in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. What false alarms have occurred since its inception? More...
Today's Birthday

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910)

Hodgkin developed a passion for chemistry at an early age and went on to become a leader in the field of X-ray crystallography. In 1948, she and her colleagues made the first X-ray photograph of vitamin B12—one of the most complex nonprotein compounds—and eventually determined its atomic arrangement. Her work in determining its structure, as well as that of other biochemical compounds, won her a 1964 Nobel Prize. In 1969, Hodgkin completed a similar three-dimensional analysis of what hormone? More...
Quotation of the Day
There is no feeling, perhaps, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.

George Eliot (1819-1880)

Idiom of the Day

don't shoot the messenger

Don't get angry at or punish someone who is simply delivering bad or undesirable news, as he or she is not responsible for it. More...
Today's Holiday

Boston Pops (2024)

Henry Lee Higginson, who established the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881, believed that in the summer, "concerts of a lighter kind of music" should be presented. People began to refer fondly to these summer concerts as "the Pops," a name which became official in 1900. The Boston Pops tailors its programs around American music and musicians, medleys of popular songs, and familiar movements of classical works. Outside of its official concert season at Symphony Hall, where it performs through May and June, the Pops also tours the United States. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: soften

emollient, emolliate - Emollient is from Latin emolliere, "to soften"; to emolliate is to soften or make effeminate. More...

macerate - Meaning "to soften," it comes from Greek massein, "knead." More...

lenify, lenity - To lenify is to alleviate or soothe an emotion or suffering, from Latin lenire, "soften"; lenity means kindness or gentleness. More...

amalgamate - Seems to go back to Greek malagma, "softening." More...

June '24
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      
March '24
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
December '23
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
July '23
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
April '23
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      
February '23
SMTWTFS
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728    
October '22
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
July '22
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
February '22
SMTWTFS
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728     
January '22
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
October '21
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
May '21
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
February '21
SMTWTFS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28      
January '21
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
August '20
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
May '20
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
June '19
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      
March '19
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
February '19
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
2425262728  
December '18
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
September '18
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      
February '18
SMTWTFS
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728   
December '17
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
July '17
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     
April '17
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      
February '17
SMTWTFS
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728