Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 2, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pent-up
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Ending Exclamatory SentencesExclamation points are most often used in place of periods to end declarative sentences that express a very strong emotion, such as anger, excitement, surprise, or disgust. What are such sentences sometimes called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AmphisbaenaThe amphisbaena appears in Greek and Roman mythology as a scaled or feathered poisonous serpent with a head at each end of its body, thus enabling it to move either backward or forward with ease. Its name is, in fact, derived from the Greek words amphis, meaning "both ways," and bainein, "to go." Ever vigilant, the monster never allows both of its heads to sleep at the same time. According to myth, the amphisbaena was formed from the blood of what dreaded mythological figure? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mercurius becomes Pope John II (533 CE)Though Catholics today are accustomed to the pope taking a new name once elected, Mercurius was the first to do so. As his birth name honored the pagan god Mercury, he chose to become John II upon elevation to the papacy. Though he died just two years later, he served at a time when sacred artifacts were regularly being sold and simony—the purchase or sale of church offices or preferment—was rampant in the selection of church officials. What other scandals did John face in his brief tenure? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mehmed IV (1642)After the deposition and murder of his father, Sultan Ibrahim, 7-year-old Mehmed IV ascended the throne of the Ottoman Empire. Chaos and corruption followed, and though grand vizier Mehmed Köprülü managed to restore order, the empire suffered severe setbacks. In 1683, the Turks besieged Vienna but were repulsed by King John III of Poland, and a Holy League was formed to carry the war into Ottoman territory. Mehmed was deposed after a Turkish defeat by Charles V of Lorraine. Who succeeded him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be not in Kansas anymore— To no longer be in a place that one knows or where one is comfortable; to be in a completely unfamiliar and/or discomfiting environment. A reference to The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy, upon arriving to Oz, says, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Berchtold's Day (2022)In Switzerland, the day after New Year's Day is known as Berchtoldstag and is celebrated primarily by children. Groups of playmates organize parties that feature nut eating and nut games followed by singing and folk dancing. A popular game is the building of "hocks" composed of four nuts placed close together with a fifth balanced on top. The children begin gathering and stockpiling nuts for Berchtold's Day festivities early in the fall. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: yesterdayhestern, hesternal - Hestern or hesternal means "pertaining to yesterday." More... nudiustertian - Pertaining to the day before yesterday. More... pridian - "Of or relating to a previous day or yesterday; former." More... yesterday - The yester of yesterday and yesteryear was a word on its own, meaning "yesterday," but by Old English it had become a collocation with "day." More... | |