Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 3, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unfeigned
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Idioms that End with PrepositionsIdioms that end with prepositions are typically phrasal verbs and consist of a verb followed by a preposition, a particle, or a particle with a preposition. What are the most common prepositions found at the end of prepositional idioms? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Opium DensOpium dens, establishments where opium is sold and smoked, were especially popular in the 19th century, particularly in China, Southeast Asia, France, and North America. Chinese immigrants hired to build the transcontinental railroad during the California gold rush brought the practice of smoking opium to the US. There, opium dens operated unhindered until an epidemic of opiate addiction in the late 1800s forced them underground. When was New York City's last opium den reportedly shut down? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Niger Gains Independence from France (1960)In 1885, the Conference of Berlin placed Niger under French control, and, in 1922, the territory became a separate colony within French West Africa. During that time, France did little to develop Niger's economy or educational system. The French constitution of 1946 granted Niger its own assembly, which stimulated national political activity and spurred the formation of Niger's first important political organization. In 1960, Niger achieved independence. Who was the country's first president? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia (1770)Friedrich Wilhelm III ruled Prussia from 1797 to 1840 and was well intentioned but weak and vacillating. Despite attempts at neutrality, he was drawn into the Napoleonic Wars between France and a shifting alliance of European powers. Defeated by the French in 1806, he allied with Russia, and his troops were instrumental in Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. Prussia's prestige declined during his reign, and he was quite unpopular. What happened when his wife visited Napoleon on Prussia's behalf? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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with no frills— With no extraneous details or embellishments. Not fancy, decorous, or elaborate. Simple. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nebuta Matsuri (2022)Nebuta Matsuri, the main festival of Aomori Prefecture in Japan, features processions of huge, elaborately painted papier-mâché figures called nebuta. In the capital city of Aomori, the nebuta figures, up to 49 feet wide and 26 feet high, depict ferociously scowling samurai warriors. Illuminated from within by candles, they glow as they are carried through the streets at nightfall. Spectators wear hats made of flowers and dance in the streets. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: roomspied-a-terre - A small town house or rooms used for short residences (1829), from French "foot on the ground." More... party wall - A wall common to two adjoining buildings or rooms. More... lobby - One of its early meanings was "monastic cloister," from Latin lobia, "covered way," before it came to mean the passage or waiting area between rooms in a building. More... enfilade - A suite of rooms with doorways in line with each other—or a vista between rows of trees. More... | |