Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 17, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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endeavor
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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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 BönBön is the oldest extant spiritual tradition of Tibet. Though its religious supremacy ended in the 8th century, the shamanistic religion has had a lasting influence on the practice of Buddhism in the region. For example, Bön's cult of divine kingship was reformulated in Tibetan Buddhism as the reincarnation of lamas, and its oracular priests have their counterpart in Buddhist soothsayers. Both Bönpos and Buddhists practice circumambulation, but they do so in what fundamentally different way? 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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 The male of the human race is commonly known (to the female) as Mere Man. The genus has two varieties: good providers and bad providers.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| 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: imposedboycott, embargo - A boycott is an organized popular protest, named for Captain Charles C. Boycott (1832-97), a land agent in Ireland to whom this was done in 1880; an embargo is usually imposed by a government. More... silentium - A place where silence is imposed (library, religious retreat). More... Pax Romana - An uneasy peace, as one imposed by a powerful state on a weaker or vanquished state. More... mumbletypeg - The children's game was first mumble-the-peg, descriptive of one of the penalties imposed on the loser. More... | |