Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 23, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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reticle
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Compound SentencesCompound sentences are one of the four main sentence structures. They are made up of at least two independent clauses expressing closely related ideas of equal or similar importance. What is used to join these clauses? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Great GatsbyWritten by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby is today considered standard reading in high school courses on American literature. It tells the story of a bootlegger whose obsessive dream of wealth and lost love is destroyed by a corrupt reality. Cynical yet poignant, the novel is a devastating portrait of the so-called American Dream, which measures success and love in terms of money. What other titles did Fitzgerald consider for this novel? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Battle of the Alamo Begins (1836)In the 1835 Texas Revolution, the predominantly American settlers of Texas sought independence from the Mexican government. In December, they took the Alamo, an old chapel in San Antonio. When Mexican forces arrived in February, the Texians were outnumbered and unprepared to withstand the 13-day siege. Nearly all of them were killed. The loss became a rallying point for Texians, who went on to win the war. What short-lived independent nation did they establish that year? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Karl Theodor Jaspers (1883)Jaspers was a German philosopher and psychopathologist often identified as an exponent of existentialism, although he rejected this classification. In his magnum opus, Philosophy, he argued that the aim of philosophy is practical and that its purpose is the fulfillment of human existence. He believed illumination is achieved through the experience of "limit situations" like conflict, guilt, and suffering, which define the human condition. What forced him to give up his teaching career? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make (someone's) ears burn— To make someone uncomfortable, embarrassed, or disconcerted by what is being said. Alludes to the ears growing red from blushing. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Polycarp's Day (2023)St. Polycarp (c. 69-c. 155) was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. He became bishop of Smyrna in 96 and, when the persecution of Christians was ordered by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, he was condemned to be burned at the stake. But according to legend, the fire formed an arch over his head and his body was left unharmed. When a spear was plunged into his heart, so much blood poured out that it quenched the flames. It was the martyrdom of St. Polycarp that gave rise to one of Christianity's richest traditions: the annual commemoration of the anniversary of a saint's death. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: transfertranslate - Early on, it meant "transfer." More... emancipate - Derives from Latin e-, "out," and mancipare, "deliver as property; transfer, sell." More... metaphor - From Greek metapherein, "to transfer," as it is a word or phrase transferred from one context (meaning) to another. More... transistor - A blend of transfer and resistor. More... | |