Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, March 10, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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asseverate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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MitigatorsMitigators are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less extreme or powerful. What is the difference between mitigators and intensifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 NüwaIn Chinese mythology, Nüwa is a figure variously described as a creator deity or a repairer of heaven and Earth, especially after a calamity. Nüwa is said to have created mankind by fashioning individuals out of clay. When the process became too arduous, she began to simply flick bits of clay off the end of a rope. These differing methods of creation have been used to explain the distinction between nobles and commoners. How did Nüwa prevent the sky’s collapse after a pillar supporting it broke? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pink Floyd Releases Dark Side of the Moon (1973)Dark Side of the Moon is a concept album by the rock group Pink Floyd that explores the nature of the human experience through themes such as money, war, mental illness, and death. It is considered by many fans to be the band's magnum opus. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time—it is estimated that one in every 14 people in the US under the age of 50 owns or owned a copy of this album. Many fans claim that the album's music provides an alternative soundtrack to what 1939 film? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Earl Ray (1928)Ray was a petty criminal who escaped from prison in 1967, while serving a sentence for armed robbery. On April 4, 1968, he is believed to have shot Martin Luther King, Jr., as King was emerging from his Memphis motel room. Ray then fled to Canada, England, Portugal, and back to England, where he was apprehended. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison but later recanted his confession. His unsuccessful pleas to have his case reopened were supported by which of King's relatives? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 For our vanity is such that we hold our own characters immutable, and we are slow to acknowledge that they have changed, even for the better.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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banged up— Hurt. Damaged (often from use or wear). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Chalk Sunday (First Sunday of Lent) (2019)In rural Ireland it was at one time customary to brush chalk on single men and women as they entered the church on the first Sunday of Lent. Because Roman Catholics were not permitted to hold weddings during Lent, those who were still unmarried at the beginning of the Lenten season had to remain so until Easter—if not longer. Back when it was less common for young people to stay single well into their 20s and 30s, marking them with chalk was a way of chiding them for their unmarried status. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: poultryfowl, poultry - Chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkey are fowl in the wild and poultry if domesticated. More... free range - Supposed to mean that poultry is allowed to roam without being confined and is fed naturally grown crops, consuming only a vegetarian diet. More... poultry, pullet - Poultry is derived from Latin pullus, "young animal" or "chicken"; a pullet is a young hen between the ages of a chicken and a mature fowl. More... alektorophobia - Fear of chickens. More... | |