Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 2, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Subject-Auxiliary InversionInversion refers to the reversal of the normal position of the subject and the auxiliary verb of a clause. Subject-auxiliary inversion is commonly used to create what kind of sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ethel MermanMerman was a Tony Award winning star of film and stage. Her precise enunciation, wide vocal range, and accurate pitch garnered her much acclaim. She began singing while working as a secretary and eventually became a full time vaudeville performer. Her powerful alto voice afforded her great advantages at a time when stage singers performed without microphones. She made her theater debut in Girl Crazy (1930). According to Broadway lore, what did George Gershwin advise her never to do? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Henry Hudson Discovers Hudson Bay (1610)After several failed attempts to find a northeast passage to Asia, Hudson, a veteran sea captain, sailed west and began probing N America to find a way through it by ship. In 1610, he discovered Hudson Bay but lingered too long and became trapped there by winter ice. When the weather warmed, Hudson wanted to continue exploring, but his starved and diseased crew refused. They mutinied and set Hudson, his son, and a few others adrift in a small boat without food or water. What happened to them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Myrna Loy (1905)Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp, film actress Myrna Loy soon earned praise for her witty sophistication in 1934's The Thin Man. By 1936, she was a top box-office draw. Offscreen, she was never associated with Hollywood glamour or scandal. Instead, she was one of the few actors to protest against the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the McCarthy era. Her outspokenness on another issue resulted in her inclusion on what world leader's personal blacklist? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Democracy is the healthful lifeblood which circulates through the veins and arteries, which supports the system, but which ought never to appear externally, and as the mere blood itself.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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publicity hound— Someone who seeks to have the attention of the public constantly focused on him- or herself, typically by means of attracting media coverage. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Robin Hood Festival in Nottinghamshire (2025)The Robin Hood Festival takes place for one week in early August every year in Sherwood Forest, an ancient woodland in Nottinghamshire, England. The event celebrates the life and times of one of the most popular outlaws in the world: Robin Hood. Activities and entertainment include children's theater, strolling players, jesters, jousting, and music. There are demonstrations in such aged arts as falconry and long-bow-shooting, and a medieval market offers a variety of goods. As many as 75,000 visitors take part in the week's activities. It has taken place every year since 1975. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: ruleslect - A regional or social variety within a language, a form of speech defined by a homogenous set of rules. More... precisian - An overly precise person, a strict observer of rules and procedures. More... ring - Boxing started off in circles, and when the Marquess of Queensbury introduced a set of rules in 1867, he also introduced the roped-off square, which continued to be called the "ring." More... mistress - First meant "a woman who rules or has control," or a "woman who employs others, as servants." More... | |