Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 17, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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glasshouse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Superlative AdjectivesSuperlative adjectives describe the attribute of a person or thing that is the highest (or lowest) in degree compared to the members of the noun’s group. What suffix is added to the end of an adjective to form a superlative adjective? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Cairo GangThe Cairo Gang was a group of British intelligence agents who were sent to Dublin during the Irish War of Independence to target prominent members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Numerous members of the Gang, along with several others, were assassinated by the IRA in a planned series of simultaneous early-morning strikes engineered by Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins. The assassinations, and the British reprisal, took place on November 21, 1920, known today as what day? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 George Boleyn, Brother of Anne, Beheaded (1536)Henry VIII had two of his six wives beheaded, but the unpleasant consequences of his marriages did not apply only to his spouses. After Henry's first marriage was annulled, he took Anne Boleyn as his queen. Though she bore him the future Queen Elizabeth I, she produced no male heir, and he lost interest in her. In 1536, he had her imprisoned on questionable charges of adultery and incest—allegedly with her brother, George. Both were beheaded. What did George reportedly say before his execution? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Caroline of Brunswick (1768)Caroline wed her cousin, George IV, the future king of England, in 1795. The marriage was an unhappy one, and soon after Caroline bore George a daughter, they separated. The two were almost certainly involved in adulterous relationships thereafter—George had even been secretly, and illegally, married to another woman when he wed Caroline—yet it was Caroline whose infidelities sparked an investigation. George became king in 1820. What happened when Caroline tried to claim her rights as queen? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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keep schtum— To remain silent; to not say anything. (Used especially when by saying something, especially at the wrong time, one would cause trouble or difficulty for him- or herself.) Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Toshogu Haru-No-Taisai (2021)This festival provides the most spectacular display of ancient samurai costumes and weaponry in Japan. The Toshogu Shrine, in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, was built in 1617 to house the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), the first of the Tokugawa shoguns. On the first day of the festival, dignitaries and members of the Tokugawa family make offerings to the deities of the shrine, and warriors on horseback shoot at targets with bows and arrows. The next morning, more than 1,000 people take part in the procession from Toshogu to Futarasan Shrine, including hundreds of samurai warriors. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: listenear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached. More... scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy." More... hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic." More... listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More... | |