Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 28, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Perfective AspectThe perfective aspect highlights actions, states, or events as a whole, presenting the actions from an outside perspective as complete, bounded events. In which tenses is the perfective aspect encountered? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HussarsHussars originated in 15th-century Hungary as a light-horse corps, but the term now applies to members of various light cavalry regiments in European armies, renowned for their elegant dress. The brilliantly colored Hungarian hussar's uniform consisted of a high cylindrical cap, a jacket with heavy braiding, and a loose coat worn hanging from the left shoulder. Several hussar regiments of the British army survive today as armored units. What were the original meanings of the word "hussar"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme Is Assassinated (1986)Palme served as prime minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1986. In 1971, he led Sweden's rejection of a bid for membership in the European Community. A pacifist, he criticized US policy in the Vietnam War, creating a diplomatic rift that ended in 1974. Palme also opposed the nuclear arms race and South African apartheid. He was assassinated in 1986, and his murder remains unsolved. What did US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger reportedly say about his relationship with Palme? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dinah Shore (1916)Shore was an American singer, actress, and TV personality who enjoyed widespread popularity during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 50s. She was the first singer of the era to achieve success as a solo artist, producing over 80 hit songs, including "Baby It's Cold Outside," before beginning a four-decade career in television. Shore was a hit with TV audiences as well and went on to earn nine Emmys, a Peabody Award, and a Golden Globe. How did Shore, born Frances Rose, earn the stage name Dinah? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (someone's) number on it— To be considered the agent or instrument of one's fate, especially leading to death. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Leap Year Day (2024)The Earth actually takes longer than 365 days to complete its trip around the Sun—five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds longer, to be precise. To accommodate this discrepancy, an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar at the end of February every four years. The year in which this occurs is called Leap Year, probably because the English courts did not always recognize February 29, and the date was often "leaped over" in the records. There was an old tradition that women could propose marriage to men during Leap Year. The men had to pay a forfeit if they refused. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: markingpastry wheel, pastry jagger - A pastry wheel or pastry jagger is a handled tool with a thin sharp wheel, used for marking and cutting rolled-out dough. More... stocking - A white marking on the lower part of a horse's leg. More... on the dot - Probably a reference to the minute hand of the clock being exactly over the dot marking the given minute on the dial. More... hilum - The scar on a seed marking the point where it was attached to its seed vessel. More... | |