Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 7, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cacography
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Phrasal Verbs and Transitive VerbsWhen phrasal verbs are transitive, they always take direct objects. This can make it difficult to tell whether a particle or prepositional phrasal verb is being used. However, there is a quick test that we can perform to be sure. What is it? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MockumentariesA mockumentary is a fictional production filmed in the style of a documentary, often for comedic or dramatic effect. An early example of the genre is a 3-minute spoof report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest aired by the BBC as an April Fools' joke in 1957. Perhaps the most well-known mockumentary is 1984's This is Spinal Tap, which follows a fictional heavy-metal band. Other famous examples include The Blair Witch Project and Borat. What TV shows are considered mockumentaries? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Thomas D'Arcy McGee Is First Canadian Politician to Be Assassinated (1868)Thomas D'Arcy McGee was a journalist, Canadian Father of Confederation, and the only Canadian victim of political assassination at the federal level. Patrick J. Whelan, a Fenian sympathizer, was convicted and hanged for the murder, but many now suspect that he was simply a scapegoat and not the killer. The bullet that took McGee's life had been in the possession of the Library and Archives Canada but was recently reported missing. Where was McGee murdered? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Allen Welsh Dulles (1893)Born into America's political establishment, Dulles became an extremely influential governmental figure, eventually serving eight years as the US Director of Central Intelligence. He resigned in 1961, after a series of controversial events—most notably the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba—aroused criticism of the Central Intelligence Agency. Two years later, he was appointed to the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Who was his famous brother? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A married man forms married habits and becomes dependent on marriage just as a sailor becomes dependent on the sea.George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Doctors make the worst patients.— It is difficult to give people help or advice on something in which they are professionals, because they often feel as though they already know better than anyone else how to handle the situation or perform a given task. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Armenia Motherhood and Beauty Day (2023)This is a national holiday in Armenia, celebrated each year on April 7. It comes not long after another national holiday, Women's Day, which is celebrated on March 8. Women's Day is meant to honor all women, but Motherhood and Beauty Day is dedicated especially to those who have become mothers. Children and adults alike show their affection for their mothers with special visits, cards, and gifts. Sending flowers to one's mother is an especially popular way to mark this holiday. Another tradition associated with the day is the gift of a twig that has fresh sprouts on it. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: slaughterfatstock - Livestock fattened for slaughter. More... massacre - Comes from Latin mazacrium/masacrium, "slaughter." More... slaughter - From Old Norse, meaning "butcher's meat." More... homicide, murder, manslaughter - The general term for the killing of a person by another is homicide; murder is either the intentional killing or the malicious killing of another, while manslaughter is the unintentional, accidental killing of another through carelessness. More... | |