Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, July 5, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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high-spirited
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Compound PredicatesWhen the subject is related to two or more finite verbs, the sentence is said to have a "compound predicate." What do we usually use to link the verbs in a compound predicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Book of ThelThe Book of Thel is an illustrated poem published by English author and illustrator William Blake around 1789. It tells the story of a young woman—Thel—who seeks to understand why all things must die. She poses this question to a lily, a cloud, a worm, and a clod of clay. The clod invites Thel to visit the underworld, where she hears questions even more troubling than her own and flees in terror. The relatively short poem is rife with allegory. What might the character of Thel represent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Wagram Begins (1809)The two-day Battle of Wagram signaled the end of the 1809 War of the Fifth Coalition between the kingdoms of Austria and France. Due to the battle's then-unprecedented use of artillery, both sides suffered tens of thousands of casualties. The Austrians were broken by the battle. Napoleon's victory forced Archduke Charles of Austria to accept unfavorable armistice conditions, stripping Austria of land and subjects. The battle might have ended differently if who had shown up in time? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 David Glasgow Farragut (1801)Adopted by a naval officer as a child, Farragut began his naval career as a midshipman at age nine. During the US Civil War, he ran his ships past Confederate forts to capture New Orleans. The victory earned him a prominent place in the Union navy. He was again promoted in 1864, after leading a successful assault on a heavily mined Confederate port. Famously, upon losing a ship during the attack, he allegedly cried out "Damn the torpedoes–full speed ahead!" What naval rank was created for him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hold that thought— An expression used to interrupt someone mid-speech and indicate that one's attention is being or about to be diverted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Beiteddine Festival (2020)The Beiteddine Festival, held in a magnificent 200-year-old palace in this town in the Chouf region of Lebanon, has presented world-class offerings in the arts since 1985. Organizers defied the struggles of Lebanon's civil war by staging this celebration of human culture. Many performers are Lebanese, but artists from around the world also are invited. The 2001 festival, for example, included a concert by Elton John, a production of Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris, and Turkish folk musician Kudsi Erguner, as well as a performance by the Lebanese singer Fairouz. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: strangerextranean - An outsider or stranger, a person not belonging to a household. More... barbarian - Based on Greek barbaros, "stranger" or "enemy." More... stranger - Originally a foreigner, from Old French estrangier, from Latin extraneus, "person outside." More... pilgrim - Its basic meaning was "traveler, homeless wanderer," from Latin peregrinum, "foreigner, stranger." More... | |