Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 9, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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mix-up
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Inflection (Accidence)Inflection (also known as accidence or flection) is the way in which a word is changed or altered in form in order to achieve a new, specific meaning. What is declension? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Framing: The Art of "Spinning" InformationA frame is a schema of interpretation that individuals rely on to understand events. In framing, specific social and political forces use these unconscious collections of stereotypes to develop rhetorical packaging that encourages certain interpretations and discourages others. It has become especially popular in the US, where it is used by both major political parties. What framing strategies were included in the political memo titled "The 14 Words Never to Use"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The American Civil War Ends at Appomattox Court House (1865)The first major engagement of the US Civil War was the First Battle of Bull Run, fought in 1861 partly on the farm of Wilmer McLean in Manassas, Virginia. A few years later, McLean moved to Appomattox Court House, a town which, coincidentally, would soon be the site of the war's effective end. It was there that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in McLean's parlor. Why did Grant stop Union troops when they began to celebrate the victory? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830)Muybridge was an eccentric photographic innovator who left a vast and varied body of work. He is best known for his pioneering use of multiple still cameras to photograph the stages of motion. Hired by Leland Stanford to answer the question of whether there is a moment during a horse's stride when all four of its hooves are off the ground, he developed a special shutter for his cameras and a method for triggering them sequentially. Why was he acquitted of murdering his wife's lover? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Kindred spirits alone do not change with changing years.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have its/(one's) day— To be at the height of or experience success or prosperity. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Passion Play at Tzintzuntzan (2020)The Penitentes, or penitents, are a lay brotherhood of religious flagellants who often participate in Passion plays dramatizing the events of the last days in the life of Jesus. One of the most complete and colorful Passion plays is the one staged in Tzintzuntzan in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Performed in an olive grove near the church, the play begins at noon on the Thursday preceding Easter with a representation of the Last Supper and continues until midnight on Good Friday. The penitents wear black loincloths and face-coverings, carrying heavy crosses in imitation of Jesus. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: witchtroll - Originally a witch or sorceress. More... fly-by-night - Said to be an old term of reproach to a woman signifying that she was a witch, and was extended to "anyone who departs hastily from a recent activity," especially while owing money. More... hag - First meant "witch." More... witch - In Old English, it was actually wicca and originally (c. 890) was a man who practiced magic or sorcery, who we now call a wizard; by the year 1000, witch came to be defined as "a female magician or sorceress." More... | |