Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 16, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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highfalutin
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicate Pronouns and CaseWe commonly use personal pronouns in the possessive case predicatively. When pronouns that are not possessive are used predicatively, the conventional rule is to put them in the subjective case rather than the objective case. What is the only thing that pronouns in the objective case should be used as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CastratiCastrati were male singers with artificially created soprano or alto voices that were the result of castration in boyhood. Possessing powerful voices of great range and unique sound, castrati were introduced in the 16th century. They were especially popular in churches and operas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries and even sang in the Sistine Chapel choir until 1903. When was the practice of castrating prepubescent boys for musical purposes outlawed in Italy? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 LSD Is First Synthesized by Swiss Chemist Albert Hofmann (1938)Ergot, a toxic fungus that grows on rye, can cause spasms and hallucinations if accidentally ingested. In 1938, Hofmann was researching potentially useful derivatives of ergot when he first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). However, he did not discover its hallucinogenic properties until five years later, when he accidentally absorbed some of the substance through his fingertips. In 1947, his laboratory introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug. What is "Bicycle Day"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Simon Kaufman (1889)Kaufman was an American dramatist and humorist who co-wrote more than 40 plays, many of which became tremendously successful. His collaboration with Moss Hart produced such plays as Once in a Lifetime and You Can't Take It With You, and he also worked on the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera. Kaufman was also an influential drama critic for New York newspapers and was known for his caustic wit. What did he once suggest as a way to avoid crowds during a flu epidemic? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones.Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be a different kettle of fish— To be entirely different in scope or description from someone or something that was just being discussed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Plebeian Games (2020)The Roman leader Flaminius is thought to have instituted the Plebeian Games in 220 BCE. They originally may have been held in the Circus Flaminius, which he built. Later, they may have moved to the Circus Maximus, a huge open arena between the Palatine and Aventine hills. The Games were dedicated to Jupiter, one of whose feast days was November 13, and included horse and chariot races and contests that involved running, boxing and wrestling. The first nine days of the festival (November 4-12) were devoted to theatrical performances. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: manuscriptacephalous - A manuscript lacking a beginning could be called acephalous. More... autograph - Comes from Greek, then Latin autographum, meaning "self-written"; it originally meant "author's own manuscript." More... manuscript - Originally an adjective meaning "written by hand"; manuscript can refer to a handwritten piece of music. More... palimpsest - Can describe a manuscript or writing surface that has been reused, erased, or altered while retaining traces of its earlier form—and, by extension, an object, place, or area that reflects its history. More... | |