Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 1, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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extenuation
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns - Reflexive PronounsReflexive pronouns are used when someone or something is both the subject and the object of the same verb—i.e., when both performing and receiving the action. What are the nine reflexive pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Grub Street"Grub Street" was the name of a street in London known for its concentration of aspiring authors and poets, low-end publishers and bookshops, and writers of low-quality books. It existed on the margins of London's journalistic and literary scene and became famous for its bohemian society amidst low-rent flophouses, brothels, and coffeehouses. Today, "Grub Street" is used as a pejorative term for hack writers and their literary output. What poet popularized the contemporary image of Grub Street? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Chinese Seize Control of Taiwan from Dutch East India Company (1662)In 1624, the Dutch founded forts in southern Taiwan. Two years later, the Spanish occupied the northern part of the island. The Dutch expelled the Spanish in 1641 and assumed control of the entire island but were, in turn, forced to abandon it when Koxinga, a general of the Ming dynasty of China, successfully laid siege to the main Dutch settlement, Fort Zeelandia, and took the island in 1662, establishing an independent kingdom. What happened to the colony's governor, Frederick Coyett? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Langston Hughes (1902)Hughes was an American poet and a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance. His writing is largely concerned with depicting African-American life, particularly the experience of the urban African American, and often uses dialect and jazz rhythms. Along with several collections of poetry, Hughes published numerous other works, including several plays, books for children, and novels. While working as a busboy, Hughes launched his literary career by presenting his poems to what poet as he dined? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Beauty ought to look a little surprised: it is the emotion that best suits her face. The beauty who does not look surprised, who accepts her position as her due—she reminds us too much of a prima donna.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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wear too many hats— business slang To hold too many responsibilities or assume too many roles at the same time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Winterlude (2019)A midwinter civic festival held in Ottawa, Canada, Winterlude is primarily a celebration of winter sports. The Rideau Canal, which has been referred to as "the world's longest skating rink," is nearly eight kilometers (five miles) long and provides an excellent outdoor skating facility. There is also snowshoeing, skiing, curling (in which thick, heavy stone and iron disks are slid across the ice toward a target), speedskating, dogsled racing, and tobogganing. For those who prefer not to participate in the many sporting events, there is an elaborate snow sculpture exhibit known as Ice Dream. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: headachecephalgia, encephalalgia - Cephalgia and encephalalgia are medical terms for a headache. More... megrim - Another word for a headache, especially a migraine. More... shivaree - A mock serenade, it originally meant "headache" in its Latin form. More... neurasthenia - A disorder characterized by loss of energy, lack of motivation, and feelings of inadequacy, along with vague physical symptoms such as headache or muscle pain. More... | |