Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 16, 2018)Word of the Day | |||||||
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waffle
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Evaluative Adverbs that Indicate JudgmentThere are several types of evaluative adverbs, which can be classified according to their function. We can use evaluative adverbs to make judgments about someone's actions, including our own. "Wrongly" is an evaluative adverb that we can use in this way. What are others? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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Exquisite CorpseExquisite corpse is an exercise in which a collection of words or images is assembled by several participants, each of whom adds to a composition by either following a predetermined sequence—such as adjective-noun-adverb-verb-article-adjective-noun—or by looking at the end of the previous entry. The name of the game is derived from the phrase that French Surrealists created when they first played it in 1925: "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau," which means what? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Masada Falls to the Romans, Ending Jewish Revolt (73 CE)Masada is an ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel's Judaean Desert. In 66 CE, with the outbreak of the Jewish war against Rome, the Zealots, an extremist Jewish sect, seized the fortress in a surprise attack and massacred its Roman garrison. After the fall of Jerusalem, Masada, the last remnant of Jewish rule, refused to surrender. Masada remained under Zealot control until 73 CE, when, after months of siege, the Romans finally breached the walls. What did they discover when they entered? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755)Recognized as the most important female painter of the 18th century, Vigée-Lebrun began painting portraits professionally in her early teens and went on to have a long and successful career. In 1779, she was summoned to Versailles to paint Marie Antoinette, whom she would paint at least 30 more times. At the outbreak of the French Revolution, she fled France and traveled abroad, finding acclaim and prominent sitters wherever she went. Which notable figures did she paint during her travels? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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How is it that the poets have said so many fine things about our first love, so few about our later love? Are their first poems their best? Or are not those the best which come from their fuller thought, their larger experience, their deeper-rooted affections? George Eliot (1819-1880) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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Elvis has left the building— Said when an event or performance has come to an end, or when someone or something has left a place, especially in a dramatic fashion. The phrase refers to an announcement famously made at the end of Elvis Presley concerts alerting people that he vacated the premises and no further encores would be played. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Margrethe's Birthday (2023)The birthday of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (b. 1940) is observed in the capital city of Copenhagen, where people congregate in the courtyard of Amalienborg, the royal palace. Carrying small Danish flags, children cheer and sing for the Queen, refusing to go home until she comes out to greet them. She often appears on the balcony at lunchtime and makes a speech, which is followed by a changing of the Royal Guard in its scarlet dress uniforms. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: protectedgeneric word - One referring to a commercial product, formerly a brand name that is no longer protected by trademark. More... patent leather - Got its name from the U.S. Patent Office, as the leather's finish was once protected by patent. More... shelter - May come from Middle English sheltron, a body of troops that protected itself in battle with a covering of joined shields. More... patron - Derives from Latin patronus, which means "protector of clients" or "defender." More... |