Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lampblack
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of Manner and AdjectivesAdverbs of manner can also be used to describe adjectives, giving them an extra depth or dimension of character. Where must an adverb of manner be positioned in relation to the adjective it modifies? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GentlemanIn English law, a gentleman was one who bore a coat of armor, was entitled to bear arms, and ranked above yeomen. However, by the 19th century, the word’s association with social rank had diminished, and rather than signify a distinction of blood, the term came to describe a man who is cultured, courteous, and well-educated. Today, it is often used, alongside "lady," to emphasize norms expected in polite society. What qualities are associated with the Confucian "gentleman," the junzi? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Harriet Quimby Flies over English Channel (1912)In 1911, Harriet Quimby earned the first pilot's license issued to a woman in the United States. Less than a year later, Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She continued piloting aircrafts until her tragic death in 1912, when she was tossed from her airplane after it unexpectedly pitched forward. Despite the importance of her flight over the English Channel, the feat barely made the newspapers at the time because it was eclipsed by what major event? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charlie Chaplin (1889)Chaplin was one of the most creative personalities in the silent film era: he acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own films. Merging physical grace and disrespect for authority, he created a signature character, the Little Tramp, who wore a gentlemen's derby, carried a cane, and sported a toothbrush mustache. The Little Tramp's baggy trousers and oversized shoes contributed to his unique, bow-legged dance-walk. How did Chaplin's political leanings affect his career? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not from nature, but from education and habits, that our wants are chiefly derived.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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clutch (one's)/the pearls— To react in a scandalized or mortified manner to once-salacious but now relatively common things, events, situations, etc. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C.) (2022)In Washington, DC, April 16th is celebrated as Emancipation Day, commemorating the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. More than 3,000 slaves were freed under this agreement. Since 2005, the date has been a legal holiday in the District. Events are scheduled throughout the preceding week, and the observance culminates on the 16th in a day of festivities and entertainment, beginning with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in the morning. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: raisincurrant - Developed from Middle English raison of Corauntz, "a raisin of Corinth," from where the fruit came. More... figgy pudding - From the dialect term fig, which meant "raisin." More... frail - Fifty pounds of raisins. More... passulate - To dry grapes to make raisins, from Latin passula, "raisins." More... | |