Word of the Day, July 4, 2023

July 4, 2023 [The Free Dictionary]( Word of the Day [engram]( [Discuss]( Definition: (noun) A physical alteration thought to occur in living neural tissue in response to stimuli, posited as an explanation for memory. Synonyms: [memory trace]( Usage: The neuroscientist likened engrams in neural tissue to data on the hard drive of a computer. 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. Complete English Grammar Rules [Complete English Grammar Rules] An Amazon Best Seller! Finally, all the rules of English grammar, all in one book, explained in simple terms. ✔ 500+ pages of proper grammar instruction—2X more information than the leading grammar book! ✔ Hundreds of quizzes and thousands of example sentences. [Buy now]( Idiom of the Day [grease payment]( — A sum of money, typically a bribe, paid to a government official or business person so as to facilitate or expedite some decision or transaction. ["More...]( [Idiom video]( Article of the Day The Tooth Fairy [Discuss]( The tooth fairy is a character in modern Western culture that attends a child's loss of a deciduous tooth. In Spanish and Italian culture, the tooth fairy takes the form of a little mouse. Typically, a child who has just lost a tooth places it under their pillow before going to sleep; in the morning, the child finds that the tooth has been replaced by a coin, a dollar bill, or a present. What is the origin of the tooth fairy character? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Defining the Imperfective Aspect [Discuss]( As there is no separate verb form in English for the imperfective aspect, it is expressed through different grammatical structures, which change depending on what we are saying about the temporal structure of the action. We sometimes classify these structures as what two subclasses of the imperfective? [More...]( This Day in History Henry David Thoreau Begins Two Years of Simple Living (1845) [Discuss]( In 1845, Thoreau, an American author and naturalist, built himself a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He spent the next two years, two months, and two days there, observing nature, reading, and writing. He also kept a journal that he later used to write his masterpiece, Walden, or Life in the Woods, which compresses his time there into a single calendar year and uses the passage of the seasons to symbolize human development. What were Thoreau's enigmatic last words? [More...]( Today's Birthday Meyer Lansky (1902) [Discuss]( Lansky was a Russian-born US gangster. After partnering with Bugsy Siegel as a young man, he joined Lucky Luciano in forming a national crime syndicate. By 1936, he ran gambling operations in Cuba and the US, and by 1970, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $300 million. In 1979, a government investigation linked Lansky with Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. In what wartime effort did Lansky partner with the US government? [More...]( Today's Holiday Fourth of July (Aalborg, Denmark) [Discuss]( The [Fourth of July]( celebration held in [Aalborg]( Denmark, each year since 1912 was started by Dr. Max Henius of Chicago. He bought 200 acres of land in [Rebild]( and deeded the land to King Christian X, with the stipulation that his fellow Danish Americans be allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July there every year. The area is now a national park, and about 35,000 people come to observe America's Independence Day. A replica of the Liberty Bell is rung, the national anthems of both countries are sung, and there are bilingual readings of the Declaration of Independence. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it—who can say this is not greatness? [William Makepeace Thackeray]( (1811-1863) 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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