Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 4, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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importune
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using "To Be"The verb "to be" is the most common linking verb. It can link the subject to an adjective (known as a "predicative adjective") that describes it, or to a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that renames it. What are these are collectively known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The GentryThe term "gentry," in general, refers to people of gentle birth, good breeding, or high social position. In England, the term historically referred to the class of English landowners ranking just below the nobility. The gentry, particularly in England and Wales, were those not entitled to sit in the House of Lords. By the later Middle Ages, the gentry included knights, esquires, and gentlemen, and, after the 17th century, baronets. What are some examples of the gentry in other countries? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 George Eastman Receives a Patent for His Kodak Camera (1888)Eastman was an American industrialist, inventor, and philanthropist. Interested in photographic processes from an early age, he invented roll film in 1884 and perfected a camera designed to use it, called the Kodak camera. In 1892, he established the Eastman Kodak Company and began to mass produce his inventions, transforming photography from an expensive hobby of the few to a relatively inexpensive, popular pastime. What was his contribution to the development of motion pictures? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Richard Wright (1908)Wright was an American author whose works helped redefine discussions of race in the mid-20th century. The grandson of slaves, he grew up in poverty in the American south. The fictionalized autobiography Black Boy vividly describes his often harsh youth. He first came to wide attention in 1938 with a collection of short stories titled Uncle Tom's Children and published his bestselling novel Native Son two years later. Why were some of his works reissued in 1991? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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l'esprit de l'escalier— A French phrase meaning "the wit of the staircase"; a perfect witty remark, retort, or rejoinder that occurs to one after the fact or too late to be used. (Also written as "l'esprit d'escalier.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dasa Laksana Parvan (Paryushana) (2019)Dasa Laksana Parvan is a Jain festival observed by the Digambara sect, which is the dominant sect in southern India. This festival usually falls during the latter part of the rainy season, and it may last 10 days instead of eight. Scripture readings focus on different portions of the holy text describing the 10 characteristics to which Jains aspire: forbearance, gentleness, uprightness, purity, truth, restraint, austerity, renunciation, lack of possession, and chastity. For the Svetambara Jains, the dominant sect in northern India, this festival is known as Paryushana. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wristdolman sleeve - One that is much wider at the arm-hole than it is at the wrist, patterned on a Turkish robe. More... rasceta, rascettes - The deep transverse creases across your wrist at the base of the palm are rasceta or rascettes. More... carpus - In humans, it is the group of eight bones that form the wrist and part of the hand. More... wrist - The wrist of the foot is the instep or ankle. More... | |