Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 6, 2019)Word of the Day | |||||||
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anchorite
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining AdverbsAn adverb refers to any element in a sentence used to modify a verb, adjective, another adverb, or even an entire clause. Adverbs can be single words. They can also be phrases (called "adverbial phrases") or entire clauses, which are called what? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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The Consolation of PhilosophyBorn to a patrician family, Boethius was a Roman scholar, philosopher, and statesman who became consul in 510 CE and subsequently chief minister to the Ostrogothic king Theodoric. Condemned to death for treason, he wrote his greatest work, De Consolatione Philosophiae—The Consolation of Philosophy—while in prison awaiting execution. The work, which was extremely popular and influential throughout the Middle Ages and later, is written as a conversation between Boethius and whom? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Opening of the First Modern Olympic Games (1896)In 1894, after efforts by Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin to revive the ancient Greek Olympics, the newly established International Olympic Committee appointed the Greek capital of Athens as the host city for the first modern international Olympic Games. Held between April 6 and 15, 1896, the games drew athletes from 14 countries for several athletic events, including the first modern marathon. Though women were not allowed to compete, one woman protested the day after the marathon by doing what? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Bison Dele (1969)Dele was a professional basketball player who disappeared at sea in 2002 and is believed to have been killed by his brother. Three years earlier, at age 30 and arguably at the peak of his career, Dele opted out of a $36 million contract and retired from the National Basketball Association. In 2002, he set sail on the South Pacific Ocean with his girlfriend, the boat's captain, and his brother—the only one ever seen or heard from again. How did his brother draw further suspicion after his return? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal—every other affliction to forget; but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open—this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude. Washington Irving (1783-1859) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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like (one's) life depends on it— With maximum, possibly desperate, effort or energy (i.e., as if one is at risk of losing one's life if one fails). More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Chakri Day (2023)Chakri Day is a national holiday in Thailand to commemorate the enthronement of Rama I, who founded the Chakri Dynasty in 1782. He was born Chao Phraya Chakri in 1737 and had become Thailand's leading general when a palace coup took place in Thon Buri. The dynasty he established has headed the country to this day, although the end of absolute monarchy came in 1932. The king was given the title Rama after his death. Ceremonies on April 6 honor his deeds and the founding of Bangkok as the capital. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: listenear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached. More... scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy." More... hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic." More... listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More... |