Definition: (noun) A person who operates a farm.
Synonyms: farmer, granger, sodbuster.
Usage: The husbandman will not make his own plough or mattock, or other implements of agriculture, if they are to be good for anything.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Until recently, St. Paul Island was home to a mystery of mammoth proportions. Today the largest animals living on this 42-square mile speck of earth are a few reindeer, but once, St. Paul was woolly mammoth territory. For more than 4,000 years after the mainland … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle that took place in the North Sea during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, which broke out over Dutch trade with Britain’s enemies during the American Revolution. The battle is therefore considered part of the American War of Independence. The clash began after the British spotted and began to chase a Dutch merchant fleet being escorted by a convoy of warships. Both sides suffered significant casualties during the three-hour skirmish. Who emerged the victor? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
On this date in 1995, the Croatian Army defeated Serbian forces at the city of Knin in a decisive battle called Operation Storm. The victory enabled Croatia to regain control of the Serbian-declared breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina. The main celebration of this national holiday takes place in Knin, where thousands gather to watch a parade and to listen to speeches by the country’s leaders. Church bells toll, and wreaths are laid in honor of those who died in the war. The national flag is hoisted atop of the fortress overlooking southern Knin as part of the celebration. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Maupassant was a 19th-century French writer considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protégé of Gustave Flaubert, Maupassant wrote with a simplicity, clarity, and objective calm that echoed the style of his mentor. He first gained attention with “Boule de Suif,” or “Ball of Fat,” and eventually published about 300 short stories, many of which are said to be unsurpassed in their genre. Why did Maupassant often dine at the restaurant at the base of the Eiffel Tower? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Catacombs of Paris are a network of subterranean tunnels and rooms located in Roman-era limestone quarries that were converted into a mass tomb at the end of the 18th century to curb the spread of disease due to improper burials and mass graves. Today, only a small portion of the catacombs, which span more than 186 miles, is open to the public, but many enter them illegally via secret entrances found throughout Paris. Why were the catacombs closed to the public in 2009? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) Ornamental trimming for a garment, as braid, lace, or metallic beads.
Synonyms: trim.
Usage: The passementerie on her hat was so elaborate that it made the brim droop.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Heather Bottoms’ two sons had been asking to go to a local indoor trampoline park for a while, so last September she took them. Her older son, then age 13, was jumping up and down when he bounced off the wall, fell and broke both the bones in one arm. The … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel beneath the River Thames in East London, linking Greenwich with the Isle of Dogs. Opened in 1902, the tunnel replaced an occasionally unreliable ferry service and was intended to allow workers living on the south side of the Thames to reach their workplaces in the London docks and shipyards. The tunnel is made of cast-iron rings lined with concrete and covered with some 200,000 white tiles. It is 1,215 ft (370 m) long and how deep underground? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Dog Days are known as the hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and usually occur in July and early August. In ancient times, the sultry weather in Rome during these months often made people sick, which they blamed on the fact that this was when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose at about the same time as the sun. There are many different ways of calculating which days in any given year are the dog days, but it is impossible to be precise; nowadays it is generally assumed that they fall between July 3 and August 11—slightly later than they occurred in ancient times. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary