Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 30, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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travail
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Irregular AdverbsIrregular adverbs are adverbs that are not formed from standard English spelling conventions. Because they do not follow the "rules," there is no trick to using them: you simply have to memorize them. "Fast" and "good" are examples of irregular adverbs. What are others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Cloud of UnknowingThe Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the 14th century. This spiritual guide on contemplative prayer counsels a young student to seek God not through knowledge but through intense contemplation motivated by love and stripped of all thought. According to the author, through this method God's true nature will be revealed. "The Cloud of Unknowing" has remained a popular concept, even appearing in what famous 1961 fictional work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Anglo-Japanese Alliance Signed in London, England (1902)The First Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed to protect the respective interests of Britain and Japan in China and Korea. Directed against Russian expansionism, the alliance helped Japan by discouraging France from entering the Russo-Japanese War on the Russian side. The alliance later prompted Japan to join the Allies in World War I. Britain allowed the alliance to lapse after the war, when it no longer feared Russian encroachment in China. What were the cultural effects of the alliance? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Shirley Hazzard (1931)Hazzard is an Australian novelist and short-story writer who has lived in the US since 1951. She and her husband, writer Francis Steegmuller, were both frequent contributors to The New Yorker magazine. Noted for her lyrical style, she achieved early success with her first story collection, Cliffs of Fall. Her 1980 novel, The Transit of Venus, brought her literary acclaim and a greatly expanded readership. Hazzard did not publish her next novel until 2003. What was it? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All honor and reverence to the divine beauty of form! Let us cultivate it to the utmost in men, women, and children—in our gardens and in our houses. But let us love that other beauty too, which lies in no secret of proportion, but in the secret of deep human sympathy.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(one's) lucky day— A particular day or moment in one's life when one experiences extremely good luck, fortune, or favor. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Franklin D. Roosevelt's Birthday (2024)Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the 32nd president of the United States. His administration encompassed the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt's birthday is observed by family members, friends, and representatives of various organizations at his home at Hyde Park, New York. Wreaths are laid, and a family member places cut flowers on the grave. The superintendent of the military academy presents the "President's Wreath," a prayer is offered, and the event concludes with three volleys from a ceremonial firing squad. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pushingcentrifugal, centripetal - Centrifugal force pulls away or pushes outward; centripetal draws toward or pulls inward. More... cow tipping - A widely frowned-upon activity whereby one knocks over a sleeping cow (which sleeps standing up) by pushing on its side. More... exert - Can refer to a seed's pushing out or up. More... crowd - Its underlying notion is of "pushing, pressing," from Old English crudan, "press." More... | |