Daily Content Archive

(as of Wednesday, February 3, 2021)
Word of the Day

squirm

Definition:(verb) To move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling).
Synonyms:twist, worm, wriggle, writhe, wrestle
Usage: He tried to squirm free, but the police officer had a firm grip on the man's wrists.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Using Prepositions with Adjectives

Prepositions can sometimes appear after adjectives to complete or elaborate on the ideas or emotions the adjective describes. Prepositions used in this way are known as "adjective complements." In such sentences, where is the preposition always positioned in relation to the adjective? More...
Article of the Day

Antarctic Icefish

As the dominant fish species in the perpetually cold waters surrounding Antarctica, icefish are notable for the unique physical adaptations that allow them to live where they do. The temperature of saltwater can drop below the freezing point of freshwater without solidifying, so icefish have evolved a type of glycoprotein antifreeze in their bodily fluids. Some icefish have demineralized bones that make them more buoyant than others. How are some icefish able to survive without red blood cells? More...
This Day in History

Australia's Last Execution (1967)

In the 16 years leading up to the execution of Ronald Ryan for the killing of a guard during a prison break, every single death sentence in Victoria, Australia—35 in all—had been commuted to life in prison. By then, two Australian states had abolished capital punishment for murder, and many in Victoria were under the impression that it had done the same. The decision to carry out Ryan's execution was widely protested. How many of the jurors who had convicted Ryan later petitioned on his behalf? More...
Today's Birthday

Gertrude Stein (1874)

Stein was an American avant-garde writer and notable patron of the arts. While she was living in Paris, her home became a salon for leading artists and writers, including Picasso and Hemingway. An early supporter of Cubism, she tried to parallel its theories in her work, employing a unique prose style characterized by the use of repetition, fragmentation, and the continuous present. Her only book to reach a wide audience, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was actually about whom? More...
Quotation of the Day
Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

Henry James (1843-1916)

Idiom of the Day

hell week

A week in which new recruits or pledges of an organization, especially a college fraternity or sorority, are subjected to a series of hazing rituals prior to initiation. More...
Today's Holiday

Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival) (2024)

Setsubun is a ceremony observed in all major temples throughout Japan to mark the last day of winter according to the lunar calendar. People throng temple grounds where the priests or stars such as actors and sumo wrestlers throw dried beans to the crowd who shout, "Fortune in, goblins out!" Some people also decorate their doorways with sardine heads, because the evil spirits don't like their smell. Beans caught at the temple are brought home to drive out evil there. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: introduction

inlay card - A pamphlet accompanying a CD, film, etc., giving an introduction. More...

isagoge - An introduction to a field of study. More...

front matter - Things in the beginning of a book like an introduction and table of contents. More...

propaedeutic - A subject or course of study that is an introduction to more advanced study or to an art or science. More...

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