Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 27, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Prepositional PhrasesA prepositional phrase is made up of at least a preposition and its object, which can be a noun, pronoun, or a noun phrase. Often times, the object will have a modifier or modifiers. Where do these appear in the prepositional phrase? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AssassinAssassin is a real-life role-playing game that is particularly popular on college campuses. Though rules vary, the game usually begins when a host assigns targets to the players. The goal is for players to track down and eliminate their targets—acquiring the eliminated victim's target each time—until only one player remains. Targets are pursued around the clock, so to be successful, players must remain vigilant at all times. What are some of the "weapons" used to eliminate targets? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 IRA Bomb Kills British Statesman and Naval Commander Louis Mountbatten (1979)A British statesman and former naval commander, Mountbatten often spent his summers in Mullaghmore, Ireland, an area also frequented by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). In the summer of 1979, IRA member Thomas McMahon planted a bomb in Mountbatten's boat, and it exploded as Mountbatten and some family members left on a fishing trip. Mountbatten was killed along with his grandson and another boy working on the boat. What other IRA incident happened the same day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Theodore Dreiser (1871)Dreiser was a novelist and pioneer of naturalism in American literature. After working as a journalist, magazine editor, and publisher, he published his first novel, Sister Carrie, which was denounced as scandalous. In 1915, the withdrawal of his autobiographical novel, The Genius, from distribution on moral grounds ignited a national anticensorship campaign supported by most of the leading literary figures of the day. Whose murder inspired his An American Tragedy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Who has not remarked the readiness with which the closest of friends and honestest of men suspect and accuse each other of cheating when they fall out on money matters?William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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leave much to be desired— To be very inadequate or unsatisfactory; to lack a large amount of what is desired or required. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Helsinki Festival (2024)The largest cultural event in the Nordic countries is the Helsinki Festival. First held in 1967, its programming includes music from all periods—rock, jazz, opera, symphonic music, and chamber works—as well as theater, ballet, circus, and art and photo exhibitions. Among the many musical events is what is known as the Festival Informal, a series where artists and visitors meet informally for "relaxed performances." Events are held in the city's parks and arcades as well as in the modern Finlandia Hall and the Finnish National Theatre and Opera. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: limbsashtanga - Sanskrit for "having eight parts"—referring to the eight limbs or sutras of yoga; ashtanga yoga is also known as power yoga. More... basket case - Originally slang denoting a soldier who had lost all four limbs, thus unable to move independently. More... stretch - Originally meant "lengthening the limbs" or making them stiffer by stretching. More... hurkle, hurple - To hurkle or hurple is to draw one's limbs in and scrunch up the shoulders in reaction to the cold or in a storm. More... | |