Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 9, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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seemly
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past Continuous TenseAlso called the past progressive, the past continuous tense is used to describe something that was in progress at a certain moment in the past. Why is it called the past continuous? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The FedoraThe fedora is a soft, medium-brimmed, felt hat with a creased crown and, usually, a band. It is often associated with film noir private detectives and Prohibition-era Mafiosos, and it tops off most zoot suits. Considered an essential piece of menswear in the US in the 1940s and 50s, the fedora fell out of fashion in the early 60s, when thinner lapels and ties called for shorter-brimmed hats. The fedora was thrust back into the limelight in the 1980s, however, thanks to what fictional character? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters Executed for Murder (1923)Frederick Bywaters was convicted of murder after admitting to the brutal stabbing of Percy Thompson, the husband of his lover Edith Thompson. In an extremely controversial decision, Edith was also convicted of her husband's murder, even though Bywaters himself claimed that Edith had had nothing to do with it. Public sympathy for Edith could not prevent her execution, which was carried out at the same time as her former lover's. Who had witnessed the murder and fingered Bywaters as the culprit? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875)Born into immense wealth as a member of the Vanderbilt family, Whitney studied sculpture in the US and Europe. In addition to producing her own notable artwork, which included a Titanic memorial, Whitney became an influential patron and collector. After attempting to donate her vast art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and being turned away, Whitney founded her own museum—today one of the foremost museums of modern American art. What family dispute made headlines in 1934? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Any one who has gumption knows what it is, and any one who hasn't can never know what it is. So there is no need of defining it.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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wear too many hats— business slang To hold too many responsibilities or assume too many roles at the same time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Agonalia (2024)In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and of doorways. The worship of Janus is believed to have been started by Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome. Usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward to the future and the other looking back to the past, his image appeared on an early Roman coin with a ship's prow on the reverse side. During the festival in honor of Janus known as the Agonalia, the rex sacrorum, or officiating priest, sacrificed a ram. Offerings of barley, incense, wine, and cakes called Januae were also common. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: rhymeassonance - The condition of the words of a phrase or verse having the same sound or termination without rhyming. More... blank verse - A verse without rhyme. More... rhyme - From Latin rhythmus, "rhythm," from Greek rhein, "to flow." More... rhyme or reason - A phrase derived from French ni rime ni raison. More... | |