Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 22, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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besmirch
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Common Prepositional ErrorsSome common errors that arise when trying to determine the appropriate preposition to use with a particular kind of verb. How are prepositions used with transitive verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 QuicksandQuicksand is a bed of loose sand mixed with water that forms a soft shifting mass that yields easily to pressure and tends to engulf any object resting on its surface. It is usually found at the mouth of a river or along a stream or beach. Although it is possible for a person to drown while mired in quicksand, the human body is less dense than quicksand, so getting stuck in it is not as dangerous as it is often portrayed in movies. What is the recommended method for escaping quicksand? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The January Uprising Begins (1863)The January Uprising began as a spontaneous rebellion of young Poles in Russian Poland against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. They were soon joined by Lithuanians living in the territory, but they were severely outnumbered and isolated, and they failed to win any major victories or capture any major cities. The Russians crushed the uprising and began an intensive program of Russification. During the uprising, Russian soldiers are said to have defenestrated what composer's piano? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Francis Bacon (1561)Bacon was a British statesman and philosopher widely regarded as the father of modern scientific method. His elaborate classification of the sciences inspired the 18th-century French Encyclopedists, and his empiricism inspired 19th-century British philosophers of science. Bacon began his public career as a member of Parliament, later serving as attorney general and lord chancellor. However, his career as a public servant ended when he was convicted and briefly imprisoned in 1621 for what crime? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words, —'Wait and hope'.Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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up the walls— Extremely busy or overworked; having many things to contend with at once. Primarily heard in UK, Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vasant Panchami (2018)Vasant Panchami is a festival of spring, celebrated throughout India among Hindus and Sikhs at the end of January or in early February. People wear bright yellow clothes, the color of the mustard flower that heralds the onset of spring, and mark the day with music, dancing, and kite-flying. In Shantiniketan, West Bengal, the festival is celebrated with special lavishness in honor of Sarasvati, the Hindu goddess of learning and the arts. Her images are taken in procession to rivers to be bathed, and books and pens are placed at her shrine. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: variegatedchintz - Comes from the plural of Hindi chint, a printed Indian calico, from earlier Sanskrit chitra, "variegated." More... moire - Having a variegated or clouded appearance, like that of watered silk. More... variegated - Can mean "having variety in character, form, etc." More... vary - From Latin varius, "speckled, variegated; changeable." More... | |