Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 12, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hilarity
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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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 HeliamphoraHeliamphora is a genus of carnivorous pitcher plants native to South America. The plants lure insects into their deadly pitchers with their vivid pigmentation, sweet scent, and a spoon-like appendage suspended above the tube that secretes nectar. Inside the pitcher, downward-facing hairs force insects deeper inward, until they are drowned in fluid collected at its bottom and then digested by symbiotic bacteria. How do these plants keep from filling completely with water when it rains? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Elizabeth Barrett Elopes with Robert Browning (1846)Elizabeth Barrett's Poems, published in 1844, brought her immediate fame and became a favorite of the poet Robert Browning. The two began to correspond, fell in love, and, after a courtship kept secret from her tyrannical father, married and settled in Italy. The once frail and sickly Elizabeth grew stronger and, at age 43, gave birth to a son. Her poetic reputation rests chiefly on the love poems written during their courtship, Sonnets from the Portuguese. Who is "the Portuguese"? 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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 To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is . . . the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence.John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | |
| 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... | |