Definition: (noun) A long angry or violent speech, usually of a censorious or denunciatory nature; a diatribe.
Synonyms: philippic, broadside.
Usage: Milady had listened to all this menacing tirade with a smile of disdain on her lips, but rage in her heart.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1959, parolees Richard Hickock and Perry Smith murdered Herbert and Bonnie Clutter and their two children while attempting to rob their Kansas farmhouse. Writer Truman Capote spent the next five years researching the crime and interviewing those involved, including Hickock and Smith, who were hanged for the murders in 1965. Capote’s In Cold Blood was published shortly thereafter and launched the nonfiction novel genre. What famous author traveled to Kansas with Capote? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
St. Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners, is honored each year in the French town of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat by a ceremony in which 30 men carry the quintaine, a three-foot-high box painted to resemble a prison, to the church to be blessed. Afterward, they mount it on a post and strike it with mallets as they gallop by on horseback. Fragments of the smashed quintaine are said to bring good luck and to make hens lay eggs. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After nearly three decades in the German army, Rommel, who would become a famous WWII field marshal, was promoted by Hitler to the rank of general in 1939. The next year, he brilliantly commanded a panzer division in the attack on France. He then led the Afrika Korps against the Allies in N Africa, where he became known as the “Desert Fox” for his audacious surprise attacks. Allied success led Rommel to lose respect for Hitler and join a plot to remove the führer from office. How did Rommel die? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A satellite radio is a digital radio that receives signals broadcast by communications satellites. Since satellite radio operates wherever there is line of sight between the antenna and satellite, the signal spans a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio. Satellite radio service is subscription-based and can only be accessed through specialized receivers. How many satellites are generally needed to provide service to an entire continent? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course.
Synonyms: roundabout.
Usage: He prided himself on his sense of direction, so Jane refrained from mentioning that the route he had chosen was circuitous and unnecessarily long.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A year after learning to fly, aviator Eugene Ely performed an experiment for the US Navy: he took off from a temporary platform built over the bow of the USS Birmingham, anchored off Virginia’s coast, and became the first person to take off from a ship in a fixed-wing aircraft. Two months later, he performed the first shipboard landing, using the first tailhook system to land on the USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay, California. He died less than a year later while doing what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The second Friday in November is Lord Mayor’s Day in London, the day on which the city’s Lord Mayor is admitted to office. The following day is the Lord Mayor’s Show, a series of civic ceremonies held since 1215 that culminate in a parade to the Law Courts. Today, the Lord Mayor rides from Guildhall to the Law Courts in a scarlet and gold coach drawn by six matched horses. Accompanying the coach is an honor guard of musketeers and pikemen in period dress, as well as many bands and numerous floats decorated to reflect the interests or profession of the new Lord Mayor. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Lindgren was a Swedish children’s book author and screenwriter best remembered for writing the series of books featuring the character Pippi Långstrump, or Pippi Longstocking. Pippi, an unconventional, assertive, and extraordinarily strong girl—recognized by her fiery red hair worn in braids that stick out sideways from her head—was featured in many of Lindgren’s hundreds of books, which sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. What other memorable characters did Lindgren create? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Magyars, a nomadic people, migrated from the Urals to the Northern Caucasus region around 460 CE. They remained there for roughly 400 years, until the advance of the Pechenegs forced them west into what is now Romania. They arrived in Hungary towards the end of the 9th century, displacing the resident Huns and Slavs. The Magyars currently comprise 92% of the Hungarian population; consequently, the words Magyar and Hungarian are used interchangeably. What is the origin of the latter term? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary