Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 11, 2020)Word of the Day | |||||||
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comestible
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Parentheses with Minor SentencesIt's not uncommon for words and sentence fragments to be used as complete sentences (known as "minor sentences" or "irregular sentences") within parentheses outside of the regular sentence. Why is this often done? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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The TamburaThe tambura is a pear-shaped, unfretted lute, usually with four strings, used as a drone in Indian music. It produces a characteristic buzzing sound that is used to set the harmonic foundation for a song without contributing to the melody. The Indian tambura may be related to the Turkish tambur as well as many other similarly-named Asian lutes. Though readily available, electronic tamburas are seen as inferior. Many tamburas are carved from wood, but some are made of what other organic material? More... |
This Day in History | |
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The Madrid Train Bombings (2004)On the morning of March 11, 2004, 10 explosions occurred aboard four commuter trains in Madrid. The series of coordinated bombings killed 191 people and wounded 2,050, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Spain's history. Although a Basque militant group was originally suspected of the attack, an investigation revealed that it was carried out by an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell. The bombings occurred three days before Spain's general elections and exactly 911 days after what event? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Torquato Tasso (1544)Tasso, an Italian poet, was one of the foremost writers of the Renaissance as well as one of its tragic figures. After penning many popular works, Tasso became psychologically unstable and was intermittently confined to a hospital in his later life. He is best known for writing Gerusalemme liberata—Jerusalem Delivered—an epic of chivalric exploits during the First Crusade. Considered his masterpiece, it has influenced countless poets. Why, then, did Tasso heavily revise it? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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It is very difficult to be wholly joyous or wholly sad on this earth. The comic, when it is human, soon takes upon itself a face of pain; and some of our griefs...have their source in weaknesses which must be recognized with smiling compassion as the common inheritance of us all. Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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conspicuous consumption— The lavish expenditure of money or acquisition of expensive items as a public display of one's wealth or financial success. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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King's Birthday (Denmark) (2023)Though no longer observed, the birthday of Frederick IX of Denmark (1899-1972) was a national holiday in that country, marked by patriotic speeches and parades. Soldiers in uniform would march down the main street of Copenhagen, the capital, accompanied by military bands. This was also an occasion for singing Denmark's two national anthems, "Kong Kristian Stod Ved Hojen Mast" ("King Kristian Stood Beside the Lofty Mast") and "Der Er Et Yndigt Land" ("This Is a Lovely Land"). Frederick IX became king of Denmark in 1947 and ruled until his death in 1972. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: saddleapishamore - A blanket used under a saddle. More... col - A saddle between two mountain peaks, from Latin collum, "neck." More... caparison - A cloth or covering spread over the saddle or harness of a horse, often ornamented; this word can also mean "housings, trappings." More... larigos - The rings on a saddle through which the straps pass. More... |