Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, December 31, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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blamable
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Middle VoiceThe so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb. Middle voice and active voice use the same verb structure in a sentence, so how can we distinguish between the two? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 African ArtThe legacy of African art spans thousands of years and myriad cultures. Though traditional art forms include masks, figures, and textiles, each culture's works have a unique visual style. Still, some common artistic themes can be seen in art from across the continent, including an emphasis on the human figure, sculpture, performance art, and visual abstraction. What Western artists were particularly influenced by African art when it became the subject of widespread attention in the 20th century? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Central African Federation Collapses (1963)The Central African Federation was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to 1963. Created by the British government to unite the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia with the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the federation ultimately crumbled when black African nationalists demanded a greater share of power than the dominant minority white population was willing to concede. What are Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland called today? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Isma'il Pasha (1830)Isma'il Pasha was appointed viceroy of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire and was involved with work on the Suez Canal. He planned but failed to unify the Nile valley by creating a new southern Egyptian province in the Sudan. Educated in Paris and sent on diplomatic missions throughout Europe, he helped to modernize Egypt before being dismissed by the sultan because of fiscal mismanagement. The enormous debt he incurred led to the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. Who captured his son Hassan? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Adam was but human—this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake; he wanted it only because it was forbidden.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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honest to Pete— Honestly; truly; genuinely. An expression used to emphasize the veracity of one's statement, "Pete" here is a substitution of the word "God," so as to avoid potential blasphemy. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 New Year's Eve (Spain) (2023)In Spain, it is customary for families to gather on New Year's Eve in small groups to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Grapes are distributed, and, when midnight arrives, everyone eats one grape for each stroke of the clock. Eating all 12 grapes before the clock is finished striking ensures good luck in the New Year. The grapes are usually washed down with muscatel wine. So firmly entrenched is the custom that in theaters and cinemas, the show is often interrupted at midnight on New Year's Eve so that the audience can eat the grapes and drink the wine they've brought with them. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: theatrebox office - An office in a theatre for booking seats, originally from "hiring a box." More... in the wings - An expression from the theatre, referring to the areas on the sides of the stage hidden from the audience. More... scenery, scenic - Scenery was originally theatrical—"a stage depiction of nature"—and it came to be applied to nature itself; scenic first pertained to the theatre and meant "dramatic, theatrical." More... | |