Word of the Day, December 27, 2022

[ ] December 27, 2022 Word of the Day [imputable]( [Discuss]( Definition: (adjective) Possible to impute or ascribe; attributable. Synonyms: [ascribable]( [due to]( [referable]( Usage: The oversight was not imputable to him because he was on vacation when it occurred. 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 Punctuation Rules [Complete English Punctuation Rules] An Amazon Best Seller! The only punctuation guide with simple, easy-to-remember rules for how to use—and not use—every punctuation mark. ✔ Side-by-side examples of both correct and incorrect punctuation. ✔ Quizzes after every topic to help you retain what you learn. [Buy now](as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=farlex-el-20) Idiom of the Day [fox's sleep]( — A state of apparent sleep (or feigned indifference) in which someone is actually aware of everything going on around him or her. Alludes to the idea that foxes sleep with one eye open and thus are always at the ready. [More...]( Article of the Day The Saguaro [Discuss]( The saguaro is a large, candelabra-shaped cactus that can grow up to 50 feet (15 m). Native to the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern US, it takes up to 75 years to develop but can live more than 200 years and can weigh up to 10 tons (9,000 kg). This mammoth typically dies by being uprooted by wind or washouts. It produces edible red fruits and white flowers that bloom at night but remain open into the next day. What are "saguaro boots," and how have they been used by Native Americans? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Using Parentheses with Complete Sentences [Discuss]( When a parenthetical element stands on its own as a complete sentence (or multiple sentences), then the opening parenthesis will appear after the period of the previous sentence, and the closing parenthesis will appear before the first word of the next sentence (unless it appears at the end of a paragraph). How is the sentence within the parentheses punctuated? [More...]( This Day in History Charles Darwin Sets Sail on HMS Beagle (1831) [Discuss]( The theory of evolution, which Darwin first expressed in On the Origin of Species, was the result of his discoveries as a naturalist on board the HMS Beagle. His book explained evolution through the principles of natural selection and aroused widespread debate among scientists and religious leaders. Darwin spent the rest of his life studying the results of that expedition and developing his theory of evolution. What debilitating disease might he have contracted during the voyage? [More...]( Today's Birthday Johannes Kepler (1571) [Discuss]( Described by famed astronomer Carl Sagan as "the first astrophysicist and the last scientific astrologer," Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. A key figure in the scientific revolution, Kepler derived three famous laws of planetary motion, which, among other things, established that the planets travel around the Sun in elliptical rather than circular orbits. When Kepler was six, his mother, who was later tried for witchcraft, took him to see what phenomenon? [More...]( Today's Holiday St. John the Evangelist's Day [Discuss]( [John the Evangelist]( was thought to be not only the youngest of the Apostles but the longest-lived, dying peacefully of natural causes at an advanced age. Although he escaped actual martyrdom, St. John endured considerable persecution and suffering for his beliefs. He is said to have drunk poison to prove his faith, been cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, and at one point banished to the Greek island of [Patmos](. He remained miraculously unharmed throughout these trials and returned to Ephesus, where it is believed he wrote the [Gospel according to John](. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down hill. [W. 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