Daily Content Archive

(as of Wednesday, April 15, 2020)
Word of the Day

high-and-mighty

Definition:(adjective) Offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power.
Synonyms:autocratic, bossy, peremptory, magisterial, dominating
Usage: Mr. Smith's high-and-mighty demeanor made him very unpopular with his employees, who did not appreciate his domineering managerial style.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Declension with Adjectives

Adjectives are inflected when we want to form comparisons between two people or things (comparative adjectives), or to identify the person or thing with the highest degree of a characteristic among a group (superlative adjectives). What is the progression of inflection for adjectives known as? More...
Article of the Day

Komitas

Komitas was an Armenian composer, conductor, and ethnomusicologist now regarded as the founder of modern Armenian classical music. Orphaned as a boy, he was educated at Echmiadzin Seminary and ordained a priest. After establishing a choir at the monastery, he went to Berlin to study music. Upon his return, he traveled around Armenia collecting thousands of folk songs, many of which he adapted for choirs. Why do some consider him a martyr of the 1915 Armenian genocide, even though he survived it? More...
This Day in History

The Hillsborough Disaster (1989)

The Hillsborough Disaster occurred in 1989 during a soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough stadium in England. When the match began, many fans were still attempting to enter the stadium, forming a bottleneck at the gate. When the gates were opened, the push from the crowd crushed many against barriers, resulting in the deaths of 96 people. It remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history. What factors are believed to have led to the disaster? More...
Today's Birthday

Bessie Smith (1894)

When Smith was just a teen, she became the protégée of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, one of the earliest blues singers. After making recordings, she quickly became the favorite singer of the jazz public. The power and somber beauty of her voice, coupled with songs representing every variety of the blues, earned her the title "Empress of the Blues." Numerous critics have regarded her as the greatest of all jazz artists, and her fame increased enormously after her death in what tragic accident? More...
Quotation of the Day
To know, to esteem, to love, and then to part,
Makes up life's tale to many a feeling heart!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

Idiom of the Day

in the eye of (something)

At, in, or amidst the central or focal point of something. More...
Today's Holiday

Birthday of Kim Il-Sung (2024)

The birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung on April 15, 1912, is marked as a public holiday throughout North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea). The holiday is known as the Day of the Sun. All over the country, people lay floral wreaths and baskets before the hundreds of statues that commemorate Kim. The main observances take place in the capital city Pyongyang, where officials of numerous organizations and citizens lay flowers at one of the nation's grandest monuments to Kim, located on Mansu Hill. Kim Il-Sung ruled North Korea from 1945 until his death in 1994. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: lessen

alleviate - Can mean "diminish the weight of"; to alleviate is not to cure, but rather to lighten, lessen, or relieve to some degree. More...

minute, second - Latin minutus, "small," came from minuere, "lessen," and the term pars minuta prima, "first small part," was applied to a 60th of a whole—a minute, originally of a circle and later of an hour; likewise, a second was originally a secunda minuta, a 60th of a 60th. More...

mince - Can mean "lessen or diminish (something)" or "minimize." More...

bated breath - The expression is based on bate, meaning "to moderate, restrain" or "to lessen, diminish"; though bated was once rather common, it is now rare except in this set expression. More...

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