Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 25, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ireful
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Positioning Adverbs of MannerThe position we use for adverbs of manner depends on whether they are modifying a verb, a clause, or an adjective. Adverbs of manner most commonly come directly after intransitive verbs that they modify. If the verb is transitive, then where must the adverb be positioned? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Sami PeopleThe Sami are the descendants of ancient nomadic peoples who inhabited northern Scandinavia. They are sometimes called Laplanders, but many Sami consider this name pejorative. From the earliest times, they survived through hunting reindeer, and they became nomadic when they began to herd them a few centuries ago. Today, however, most Sami live in permanent dwellings and only about 10 percent still raise and follow the reindeer herds. What Academy Award-winning American actress is of Sami descent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 General George Washington Crosses the Delaware in a Surprise Attack (1776)By December 1776, the morale of American colonists fighting in the Revolution had been severely weakened by a string of losses to the better-equipped British. On Christmas Day, Washington crossed the partially-frozen Delaware River with thousands of troops, overnight and during an ice storm, to surprise and overwhelm Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. There were few casualties, and the bold move restored hope of an American victory. What secret phrase signaled the start of the crossing? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Conrad Nicholson Hilton (1887)As a boy, Hilton helped his father turn the family's home into an inn for traveling salesmen. After serving in World War I, he began to buy hotels in Texas and soon graduated to such grand establishments as Chicago's Palmer House and the Waldorf-Astoria of New York. By the late 1940s, Hilton's company had expanded overseas, and at the time of his death in 1979, Hilton controlled the world's largest hotel company. Aside from the Bible, what book was once stocked in all of Hilton's hotel rooms? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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does (exactly) what it says on the tin— (Something) does precisely what it claims or is supposed to do. Primarily heard in UK, Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Asarah be-Tevet (Fast of the Tenth of Tevet) (2020)Asarah be-Tevet is a Jewish fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE that was a prelude to the destruction of the First Temple. The fast begins at first morning light on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet. In Israel, it is also a day to remember the victims of the Holocaust. However, Jews outside Israel observe Yom ha-Shoah as Holocaust Memorial Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: phenomenacosmology - The study of the world as a totality of all phenomena in space and time. More... noology - The science of intuition and reason as phenomena of the mind. More... ontology, phenomenology - Ontology is the branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature or essence of being or existence, the opposite of phenomenology, the science of phenomena. More... second nature - Originally Latin secundum naturam, "according to nature," it is from Aristotelian philosophy and contrasts with phenomena that are super naturam ("above nature," such as God's grace), extra naturam ("outside nature"), supra naturam ("beyond nature," such as miracles), or contra naturam ("against nature"). More... | |