Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 31, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sufferable
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ArticlesArticles identify whether a noun is definite (specific or particular) or indefinite (general or unspecific). What are the three articles? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Brazen BullThe brazen bull is a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece by Perillos, a brass-founder, for Phalaris, the cruel tyrant of Agrigentum, Sicily, who ruled from about 570 to 554 BCE. Perillos cast a hollow brass bull that had a door on its side, allowing the condemned to be placed inside it. A fire lit beneath the bull would roast the victim alive. The device was designed so that the victim’s screams would sound like the bellowing of a bull. Who, ironically, was its first victim? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Titanic's Last Survivor Dies (2009)More than 1,500 lives were lost when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. However, several hundred of the ship's 2,200 passengers managed to survive. Among them was Millvina Dean, who, at just three months of age, was the ship's youngest passenger. Though she escaped with her mother and brother, her father did not survive. Eventually, she became the disaster's last living survivor. Who helped pay for her healthcare costs toward the end of her life? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Marie-René-Auguste-Aléxis, Saint-Léger Léger (1887)Known in literary circles by his nom de plume, Saint-John Perse, Léger was a French poet and diplomat. He was one of Europe's foremost diplomats prior to World War II, but he opposed appeasement of the Nazis and was dismissed by the collaborationist Vichy government in 1940. He then fled to the US, where he remained for nearly two decades. During that time, his reputation as a poet grew, and in 1960, "the soaring flight and evocative imagery of his poetry" earned him what literary award? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lazy-bones— A particularly lazy or indolent person. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day (2021)The formation of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces took place on May 31, 1961, and is commemorated each year. Brunei had been a British protectorate since 1888, dependent on the British armed forces for its defense. In 1961, Brunei recruits began training as part of a transition period toward independence for the country, which occurred in 1984. Around the country, there may be parades and military displays put on by various units of the armed forces. In the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan, it is usually commemorated at the Taman Haji Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien in the city center. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: messaddled, muddled - Addled refers to mental confusion; muddled is anything confused or in a mess. More... dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - Meaning a mess or muddle, a dog's breakfast or dog's dinner originally may have referred to a cooking mishap with results fit only for a dog's consumption. More... higgledy-piggledy - Probably formed from pig and the animal's suggestions of mess and disorder. More... kettle of fish - Meaning "mess, muddle," the phrase is from "a pretty kettle of fish," a corruption of "kiddle of fish," in which a kiddle is a basket set in the opening of a weir for catching fish. More... | |