Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 3, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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menagerie
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Dummy PronounsDummy pronouns are words that function grammatically as pronouns, but which do not have antecedents like normal pronouns do. This means that, unlike normal pronouns, dummy pronouns do not replace a noun, phrase, or clause. They are also commonly referred to as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Amala and KamalaAmala and Kamala were two so-called "wolf-girls"—feral children allegedly raised by a family of wolves before being found in 1920 near Calcutta, India, at eight and 18 months old, respectively. They were taken in by the rector of a local orphanage, who documented his observations of them in a diary for almost 10 years and claimed that, like wolves, the girls were nocturnal, did not allow themselves to be dressed, and walked on all fours. What other wolfish behaviors did they allegedly display? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, now The Times of India, Is Founded (1838)The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce was established in 1838. Since then, both the name of the newspaper and the name of the city have changed. In 1861, 134 years before Bombay was renamed Mumbai, the paper was renamed The Times of India. Today, The Times of India, an English-language daily, has the largest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world. What is its estimated readership in India? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (1908)Named an All-American at the University of Minnesota in 1929 as both a tackle and fullback, Nagurski turned pro to play for the National Football League's Chicago Bears, becoming the archetypical pile-driving fullback of the 1930s. Although he was never the league's rushing leader, Nagurski was nearly impossible to stop without a gain and often dragged multiple tacklers with him before going down. In addition to football, Nagurski competed in what other sport on a professional level? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing is so great an instance of ill manners as flattery. If you flatter all the company, you please none: if you flatter only one or two, you affront the rest.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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fall off the back of a truck— Of goods or merchandise, to be acquired by illegal or dubious means; to come into (someone's) possession without being paid for. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Meiji Setsu (2019)This day was formerly observed as the birthday of the Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), who ruled Japan from 1868 until his death. Meiji Tenno abolished feudalism, raised the people's standard of living, and secured Japan's reputation as a great world power. It was during his reign that a constitution was adopted, a parliament was convened, civil and criminal laws were codified, and an educational system was established. Railways were built, and electric lights and telephones were put into use. Today, November 3 is still a national holiday, but it is known as Bunka-no-Hi, or Culture Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wavesbreach - The leap of a whale out of the water or the breaking of waves over a vessel or onto a coast; it is also the act of breaking. More... plangent - Describes the sound of the sea and its waves—reverberating and mournfully resonant. More... swaff - To come one over another, like waves upon a shore. More... lop - The state of the sea when it has waves that are short and lumpy, hence "loppy," when it is choppy and lumpy. More... | |