Word of the Day, December 13, 2022

[ ] December 13, 2022 Word of the Day [circuitous]( [Discuss]( 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. Missing Idiom Contest The Free Dictionary has the largest collection of English idioms in the world. But we're always looking for more to add, and we want your help! Every so often we hear from users who have looked up an idiom on The Free Dictionary that it was not found in the database. Maybe it was some expression they heard at work, or some phrase they grew up hearing their grandmother say. If you know an idiom that isn't already defined on The Free Dictionary, [send it to us]( and you might win $150 USD. Complete English Spelling & Pronunciation Rules [Complete English Spelling Pronunciation Rules] The latest volume in our best-selling Grammar Book series! Learn the rules and patterns that tell you exactly how any word should be spelled and pronounced. ✔ Go beyond "I before E except after C" and get all the rules and exceptions, all in one place, all explained in plain English. ✔ Simple tips and tricks to avoid the most common mistakes. [Buy now](as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=farlex-el-20) Idiom of the Day [not say boo to a goose]( — To be particularly shy, diffident, or timid by nature. Primarily heard in UK. [More...]( Article of the Day In Vitro Fertilization [Discuss]( This technique is used for the conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova—or eggs—are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes. Sperm from the father are then added. If fertilization occurs, the fertilized ovum, after undergoing several cell divisions, is either transferred to the mother's or a surrogate mother's body for normal development in the uterus, or is frozen for later implantation. What does in vitro mean in Latin? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Other Modal Verbs [Discuss]( The verbs "dare," "need," "used to," and "ought to" can also be used in the same way as modal verbs, but they do not share all the same characteristics. For this reason, they are referred to as what? [More...]( This Day in History Battle of the River Plate (1939) [Discuss]( In the early months of World War II, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee had been seeking out and sinking British merchant ships, a practice known as commerce raiding. The British navy tracked down the German ship and engaged it near the River Plate, in what was the first major naval engagement of the war. Outgunned, the Germans sailed for Montevideo in the hopes of making repairs. Shortly thereafter, the captain, believing his forces to be outnumbered, made what decision? [More...]( Today's Birthday Mary Todd Lincoln (1818) [Discuss]( Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was a tragic figure of the American Civil War period. As First Lady, she was criticized for her use of taxpayers' money in refurbishing the White House and was even accused of harboring Confederate sympathies. She struggled with depression after witnessing her husband's assassination and suffering the deaths of three of her children, and she was committed to an insane asylum for several months in 1875. Who had her committed? [More...]( Today's Holiday Susuharai [Discuss]( In [Japan]( many people choose to give their houses a thorough cleaning at year's end. Worn or broken furniture and utensils and items that have been lost are replaced. New [tatami]( mats, the thick straw mats on which people sit and sleep, are brought in, and damage to the paper sliding doors in traditional Japanese houses is repaired. In some areas, it is customary to tie pounded rice cakes ([mochi]( "rice-cake flowers") to the branches of willow trees as an offering to the gods. Friends and co-workers may also throw "year-end forgetting parties" known as bonen-kai. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( Liberty without learning is always in peril; and learning without liberty is always in vain. [John F. Kennedy]( (1917-1963) Mobile apps from TheFreeDictionary.com [The Free Dictionary Classic Free App] The classic free version, downloaded more than 6 million times! - Multiple dictionaries, encyclopedias, and thesauruses in one place. - 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Greek, Arabic, Polish, Turkish, and Russian. - Online translations of English into more than 40 languages, plus dozens of other translation options. 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