Word of the Day, January 28, 2023

January 28, 2023 [The Free Dictionary]( Word of the Day [buffoonery]( [Discuss]( Definition: (noun) Acting like a clown or buffoon. Synonyms: [clowning]( [harlequinade]( [prank]( [frivolity]( Usage: Mrs. Williams had little patience for the class clown's buffoonery, and she would often send him to the principal's office. Missing Idiom Contest The Free Dictionary has the largest collection of English idioms in the world. But we are 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. The Farlex Idioms & Slang Dictionary [The Farlex Idioms & Slang Dictionary] New! The most complete collection of idioms and slang in the English language. Thousands more words and phrases than the leading idioms dictionaries! ✔ 17,000+ entries covering idioms, slang, phrasal verbs, and more from throughout the English-speaking world. ✔ Example sentences for every definition showing how the term is used in real life by native speakers. [Buy now]( Idiom of the Day [a free bit of advice]( — A suggestion, opinion, or piece of advice that was unrequested or unsolicited by the recipient. ["More...]( [Idiom video]( Article of the Day Compact Discs [Discuss]( Compact discs (CDs) are optical discs that store digital data. The data is digitally encoded on the disc as a series of microscopic indentations—called "pits"—on an otherwise polished surface. The disc is read by a laser beam, which is either absorbed in the pits or reflected off the non-indented areas, called "lands." After the music CD was introduced in 1982, it quickly surpassed records and cassette tapes as the music storage medium of choice. What album was the first to be released on CD? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Defining Gerunds [Discuss]( A gerund is the "-ing" form of a verb when it functions grammatically as a noun in a sentence. Gerunds can either stand alone, or they can take a noun (the object of the gerund) and/or modifier(s) to form what? [More...]( This Day in History Space Shuttle Challenger Breaks Apart (1986) [Discuss]( Seventy-three seconds into its launch, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated, killing everyone on board. Investigators concluded that an O-ring—a rubber seal located in the right booster engine—had failed due to cold weather at the time of launch, causing a chain reaction that led to the orbiter's ultimate disintegration. The tragic event was captured on film, and many children viewed the launch live because schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe was on board. Why was she on the shuttle? [More...]( Today's Birthday José Martí (1853) [Discuss]( A poet as well as a man of action, Martí was a writer and revolutionary who dedicated his life to the cause of Cuban independence. At the age of 16, he was arrested for treason and eventually deported. He returned from exile in 1878, only to be exiled again the next year. Having made his way to the US, he founded the Cuban Revolutionary party, but he was killed in battle before seeing the fruits of his labors—Cuban independence. Martí's "Versos Sencillos" serve as the lyrics of what famous song? [More...]( Today's Holiday St. Charlemagne's Day [Discuss]( [Charlemagne]( wasn't actually a saint at all; he was an emperor and the first ruler of the [Holy Roman Empire]( crowned in 800 by [Pope Leo III](. Although he was never able to read and write himself, Charlemagne, whose name means "Charles the Great," founded the University of Paris. In fact, his reign was marked by a huge cultural revival, including significant advances in scholarship, literature, and philosophy. He died on January 28, 814. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( Have you ever noticed that there are people who do things which are most indelicate, and yet at the same time—beautiful? [E. M. Forster]( (1879-1970) 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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