Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 28, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bowdlerize
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Verbs that Take Both "To" and "At"Many verbs are able to take multiple prepositions after them. However, this often results in a change in the sentence's meaning. The most common of these pairs is "to" and "at"—a large number of verbs are able to take both. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Dance of the Seven VeilsThough the Dance of the Seven Veils is not mentioned in the biblical account of John the Baptist's death, it has come to be associated with the event in subsequent retellings of the story. King Herod is said to have offered his stepdaughter, Salomé, anything she wanted in exchange for a dance—in which she removed seven layers of clothing. At the prompting of her mother, she demanded the head of John the Baptist after her performance. What Assyrian myth may have inspired the dance? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Walk to Canossa: Pope Lifts Holy Roman Emperor's Excommunication (1077)The papacy and German nobility were enjoying widespread power when Henry IV became German king and then holy Roman emperor. As Henry tried to reclaim control, he clashed with Pope Gregory and was excommunicated. The nobility sided with Gregory and refused to recognize Henry's kingship unless he sought absolution. To do so, Henry crossed the Alps in the dead of winter and allegedly stood three days barefoot in the snow at the castle at Canossa before being absolved. How did the nobles respond? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jackson Pollock (1912)After working on the Federal Art Project—a US program for the unemployed during the Great Depression—Pollock began developing the abstract, expressive style that made him a symbol of artistic revolt. Influenced by surrealism, Pollock energetically dripped paint in complicated linear patterns onto enormous canvases placed on the floor. Unlike most artists, Pollock was a celebrity during his lifetime, which was cut short by a car crash. Jackson was his middle name. What was his first name? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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out of house and home— Evicted; no longer having someplace to live. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (2022)The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is a celebration of the old tradition of cowboy poetry in the buckaroo town of Elko, Nevada. The gathering, which began in 1985 with about 50 working cowboys, has become a six-day affair in the last week of January that now includes folk-music concerts, western dances, exhibits of cowboy gear, and workshops not only on writing but also on such topics as horse-hair braiding and photography. Poetry remains the heart of the festival, and the poets—all working ranch people—include men, women, and children. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tubecanyon - Gets its name from Spanish canon, "tube." More... catheter - A tube inserted for withdrawing bodily fluids, it comes from Greek kathienai, "send or let down." More... fuse - Comes from Italian fuso, "spindle," from Latin fusus, "spindle," as it originally referred to the casing or tube filled with combustible matter. More... | |