Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 24, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AdverbialsSingle-word adverbs, adverbial phrases, and adverbial clauses are sometimes grouped together under the umbrella term "adverbials," which simply means any word or group of words used as an adverb in a sentence. However, because the term is so broad in meaning, it is very common to refer to any adverbial element with what term? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Rust BeltThe Rust Belt is an economic region in the northeast quadrant of the US, including the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, as the once dominant industrial region became noted for the abandonment of factories and unemployment. Although some Rust Belt cities have improved after the expansion of non-manufacturing industries, others have been unable to do so. What US city has lost more than half of its population in recent decades? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Soviet Satellite Breaks Up upon Reentry, Scattering Nuclear Debris (1978)Cosmos 954 was a Soviet reconnaissance satellite that used radar to observe ocean traffic. It was launched in September 1977 and quickly began to experience problems. Within months, it had deviated from its designed orbit. A malfunction prevented the safe separation of its onboard nuclear reactor, so when the satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere, it scattered radioactive debris over northern Canada, necessitating an extensive clean-up operation. How much did Canada bill the USSR for this? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Farinelli (1705)Farinelli was an Italian castrato—a singer castrated in boyhood to create an artificial soprano or alto voice. Renowned for his vocal power and agility, he became the greatest opera star of his time but abandoned the public stage for the court of Philip V, where he received an astronomical fee for his only duty: singing the same four songs to the king each night. After retiring, Farinelli received illustrious guests like Mozart at his villa in Bologna. Why were his remains exhumed in 2006? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is a God in Heaven who will not forget to punish the wicked or reward the good; and it is not fitting that honest men should be the instruments of punishment to others, they being therein no way concerned.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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open (one's) big mouth— To say something that is meant to be a secret; to say something in an indiscreet, noisy, or boorish manner. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Alasitas Fair (2022)Each year on this day, a large marketplace in La Paz, Bolivia, is full of merchants who traditionally call out "Alasitas," an Aymara word meaning "buy from me," to potential buyers of their miniature wares. Shoppers can find tiny replicas of just about every kind of object—cars, houses, foods, furniture, clothes, tools, household goods, and, especially, money—and seek those which represent items they would like to have in the coming year. Presiding over all this downsized commerce is Ekeko, an Aymara god of material wealth, fertility, and good luck. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sweetheartvalentine - Formerly a person chosen as a sweetheart or special friend, named for either of two Italian saints. More... bully - First meant lover or sweetheart, then fine fellow, then blusterer, then "person who harms or threatens weaker people." More... leman - An old word for "sweetheart, lover." More... piggesnye - An old term of endearment for one's sweetheart, literally "a darling pig's eye." More... | |