Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 20, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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insouciance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grammatical PersonGrammatical person refers to the degree of involvement of a participant in an action, event, or circumstance. There are three degrees of grammatical person. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 EcdysisIn order for certain insects, crustaceans, and reptiles to grow, they must periodically shed, or molt, their outer layer of skin or other covering in a process known as ecdysis. Prior to shedding, a new soft and expandable layer is laid down underneath the existing one. Then the inner layers of the old cuticle are digested by a molting fluid secreted by the epidermal cells, the animal emerges from the old covering, and the new cuticle hardens. How often do insects undergo ecdysis? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Chalons (451 CE)Perhaps one of the most important battles of late antiquity, the Battle of Chalons is known only from written records and its exact location remains a mystery, though it probably took place in northeastern France. In this battle, the Romans and Visigoths stopped the advance of the Huns under Attila and, some say, preserved Western civilization. The battle was brutal, and legend holds that the ghosts of the dead continued to fight for days. By some accounts, the battle was fought over what woman? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins, Mister Guitar (1924)Atkins got his first guitar by making a trade with his brother, and it was arguably the best deal he ever made. Although he struggled with shyness and suffered from severe asthma—he had to sleep sitting up and often fell asleep still holding his guitar—he became an accomplished guitarist and went on to release several hit records, develop a signature line of guitars, and help create country music's "Nashville sound." What did "Mr. Guitar," as he came to be known, trade to get that first guitar? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The bow cannot always stand bent, nor can human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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scare the (living) daylights out of (someone)— To shock or frighten someone very suddenly and/or severely. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Eritrean Martyrs' Day (2021)Following its defeat of Ethiopian government forces in 1991 to establish national independence, Eritrea instituted an official holiday to pay tribute to those who died for the country's liberation. The struggle, which lasted from 1961 to 1991, claimed the lives of an estimated 65,000 freedom fighters and tens of thousands of civilians. Many Eritreans observe Martyrs' Day by filing into mass mourning processions that conclude at the "Martyrs' Graveyards" located throughout the country. In 1997, the government opened the National Martyrs' Park outside the capital city, Asmara. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wavesbreach - The leap of a whale out of the water or the breaking of waves over a vessel or onto a coast; it is also the act of breaking. More... plangent - Describes the sound of the sea and its waves—reverberating and mournfully resonant. More... swaff - To come one over another, like waves upon a shore. More... lop - The state of the sea when it has waves that are short and lumpy, hence "loppy," when it is choppy and lumpy. More... | |