Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 12, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using "Must" to Convey CertaintyThe modal verb "must" can be used to indicate that something is certain or very likely to happen or be true. Generally speaking, though, we do not use the negative of must ("must not" or "mustn't") to express a negative certainty or strong disbelief. What do we use instead? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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| This Day in History | |
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 South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Steve Biko Dies in Police Custody (1977)A former medical student, Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in 1968 to combat racism and apartheid. He was officially "banned" by the South African government in 1973 and was arrested several times in the years that followed. Arrested for the last time in 1977, he was tortured and beaten to death in police custody, prompting international protests and a UN arms embargo. Twenty years later, five former policemen admitted killing him. Why were they never prosecuted? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Maurice Chevalier (1888)Chevalier was a French actor, singer, and vaudeville entertainer known for his trademark tuxedo and straw hat. While a prisoner of war during World War I, Chevalier studied English. After the war, he began acting in the US, where he appeared in movies that helped establish the musical as a film genre. Though he put on a heavy French accent while performing in English, he actually spoke the language quite fluently with only a subtle accent. Why did his popularity dwindle during World War II? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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| Idiom of the Day | |
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letters after (one's) name— A series of abbreviations indicating the various levels of higher education or military honors one has received, thereby denoting a presumed level of intelligence, wisdom, or respectability. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt (2024)Although called Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt, or Sausage Fair, this is actually Germany's biggest wine festival—the name is said to have originated about 150 years ago because of the immense amounts of sausage consumed. The opening day of the festival features a concert and a procession of bands, vineyard proprietors, and tapsters of the tavern stalls with decorated wine floats. The following days are a medley of fireworks, band playing, dancing, and singing through the night. Wine is served in glasses called Schoppen that hold about a pint. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shedtrain shed - A large structure sheltering tracks and platforms of a railroad station. More... hangar - Simply meant "shed" for carriages when it came into English. More... shebang - May come from an Irish name for a speakeasy—shebeen—so the "whole shebeen" was the whole drinking establishment; shebang also first meant "hut, shed, dwelling." More... shoding, shed - The part in a person's hair is the shoding or shed. More... | |