Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 23, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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festivity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grammar with Countable NounsWhen we use countable nouns, certain elements in a sentence will change depending on whether the noun is singular or plural. When a noun is singular and names a person (or, sometimes, a pet) whose gender is known, then we use which third-person singular pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Gratuitous UmlautAn umlaut is a diacritical mark consisting of two dots placed over a letter to alter pronunciation. However, the so-called "heavy metal umlaut" is used in the names of bands, such as Mötley Crüe and Motörhead, not to change pronunciation, but to evoke the stereotypes of boldness and strength commonly attributed to peoples whose languages incorporate such marks. It has since been widely parodied, including in the mockumentary This Is Spin¨al Tap. Which band first used a gratuitous umlaut? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Lewis and Clark Expedition Returns (1806)In May 1804, about 40 men left St. Louis, Missouri, and headed west on an expedition initiated by US President Thomas Jefferson to search out an overland route to the Pacific Ocean, make contact with indigenous peoples, and survey the new Louisiana Purchase. More than two years later, the party returned to great acclaim. Their journey had an incalculable effect on the history of the American West. Who accompanied the explorers and helped them negotiate with the Native Americans they encountered? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Coltrane (1926)Coltrane was an influential American jazz saxophonist and composer. He worked with numerous big bands before emerging in the 1950s as a major stylist while playing with Miles Davis. His playing exhibited a dazzling technical brilliance as well as ardent emotion. Coltrane made a number of influential recordings, among them the 1960s classics My Favorite Things and A Love Supreme. He was deeply spiritual and interested in all religions. What church made him a saint after his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every artist makes himself born. It is very much harder than the other time, and longer.Willa Cather (1873-1947) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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snow on the mountain— Silver, grey, or white hair on one's head, as due to aging. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Aizu Byakko Matsuri (2025)Aizu was once the sturdiest castle in northeast Japan, but it was destroyed in a battle between the Emperor's forces and the Shogun's forces in 1868. The Byakkotai, or White Tiger Band, young men who vowed to lay down their lives in defense of the castle, saw what they thought was fire rising from the walls. Thinking it had fallen into enemy hands, they killed themselves. Each September to commemorate their courage, there is a procession of 500 warriors and a lantern procession through Aizu Wakamatsu, where the original members of the White Tiger Band are buried. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tapfaucet - Probably comes from French fausset, meaning "bore, tap." More... tattoo - In the military sense—of a signal summoning soldiers to their quarters at night—it was originally written tap-too, from a Dutch word taptoe, meaning "close the tap" (of a cask), which was told to soldiers when they were expected to return to their quarters. More... tick, tickle - Tick, as in "sound of a clock," "mark of correctness," originally meant "light touch, tap," and its modern senses are recent developments; tickle is probably a derivative of this version of tick. More... tit for tat - Probably borrowed from Dutch tip for tap, "blow for blow." More... | |
| Match Up | |
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| Mismatch | |
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