Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, March 11, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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louche
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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 Siloam InscriptionAround the 8th century BCE, King Hezekiah of Jerusalem became concerned that if the Assyrians laid siege to his city, they could cut off the Gihon Spring—a major source of fresh water—from outside the city walls. He ordered that the spring be redirected through a deep subterranean tunnel. The tunnel was discovered by an archaeologist in 1838, but it was a curious youth who found an inscription—one of the oldest examples of written Hebrew in existence—set into the tunnel wall. What does it say? 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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 Without self-confidence we are as babes in the cradles. And how can we generate this imponderable quality, which is yet so invaluable, most quickly? By thinking that other people are inferior to oneself.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| 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... | |