Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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contravene
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AdjunctsAdjuncts are parts of a sentence that are used to elaborate on or modify other words or phrases in a sentence. What are misplaced modifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Emirate of SicilyAfter the fall of Rome, the island of Sicily passed from the Vandals to the Goths in 493 CE and then to the Byzantines in 535 CE. After two centuries of raiding, the Arabs conquered the island when Euphemius, the commander of the Byzantine fleet, defected. The Emirate of Sicily remained under Islamic rule from 965 to 1060 CE, during which time agriculture, commerce, and arts and sciences were promoted. Who led the Norman conquest of Sicily that ultimately displaced the Arabs? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Council of Nablus (1120)The Council of Nablus was convened to establish the first written laws for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Christian kingdom established in 1099 by the First Crusade. The council included both ecclesiastic and secular lords who established 25 canons that addressed both religious and secular issues like tithing, adultery, bigamy, false accusations, legal attire for Muslim residents, and theft. Why, according to the canons, was it necessary for the Christian leadership to organize this council? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Fulgencio Batista (1901)Batista was a soldier, president, and dictator who twice ruled Cuba. After working his way up through the army, he ruled first through associates before becoming president himself in 1940. In his first term, he achieved gains in education, public works, and the economy while enriching himself and his associates. He lost the 1944 election but returned to power through a US backed coup in 1952 and ran a corrupt and brutal dictatorship that set the stage for his overthrow in 1959 by whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not that the Englishman can't feel—it is that he is afraid to feel. He has been taught at his public school that feeling is bad form. He must not express great joy or sorrow, or even open his mouth too wide when he talks—his pipe might fall out if he did.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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torqued off— Particularly irritated, frustrated, or exasperated. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Pongal (2019)A colorful four-day harvest celebration in southern India, Pongal honors the sun, the earth, and the cow. The first day is for cleaning everything in the house. On the second day, freshly harvested rice and jaggery (palm sugar) are put to boil in new pots, and people cry out, "Pongal!" ("It boils.") On the third day, village cows and oxen are bathed, decorated with garlands of bells, beads, and leaves, and worshipped. On the fourth day, bundles containing money are tied to the sharpened horns of bulls. Young men who are brave enough try to snatch the money from the bulls' horns. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: hellbarathrum - A bottomless pit or hell. More... fire and brimstone - Eternal punishment in hell (from Genesis 19:24 and Revelation 19:20). More... pandemonium - Literally means abode of all demons (or hell), from Greek pan-, "all," and daimon, "demon(s)." More... hell - The Indo-European root meant "covered or concealed," as hell is supposedly hidden in the dark regions near the Earth's center. More... | |