Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 24, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dusky
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns - NumberGrammatical number in English simply means whether something or someone is singular or plural—i.e. whether there is one (singular) or more than one (plural). For nouns, we usually just add an "-s" to the end of the word to signify that it is plural. Why can't the same be done to pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Chess BoxingChess boxing combines the two titular activities, speed chess and boxing, in a competition that tests participants' mental agility and physical prowess. Matches consist of as many as 11 alternating four-minute chess sessions and two-minute boxing rounds. A competitor can win by knockout, checkmate, judge's decision, or if his opponent's 12 minutes of chess time elapses. The sport, now governed by the World Chess Boxing Organisation, was first envisioned in 1992 by Enki Bilal in what art form? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pete Rose Is Banned from Baseball (1989)During his 24-year baseball career, Rose played in more games and got more hits than any player in history. Even so, the onetime Most Valuable Player could not avoid a lifetime ban from the sport after being accused of betting on baseball games—including those of his own team. In return for not having the charges formally proven, Rose accepted the banishment, which rendered him ineligible for induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. However, he later spent five months in federal prison—for what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (1872)A charming, witty, and elegant English caricaturist and writer, Beerbohm used his pen to parody whatever was pretentious, affected, or absurd in his famous and fashionable contemporaries. His works include A Christmas Garland, a collection of parodies on such authors as Joseph Conrad and Thomas Hardy; Zuleika Dobson, an amusing satire on Oxford and his only novel; and Caricatures of Twenty-five Gentlemen, his first book of drawings. Who dubbed him "the incomparable Max"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When he stepped off the straight and narrow path of his peculiar honesty, it was with an inward assertion of unflinching resolve to fall back again into the monotonous but safe stride of virtue as soon as his little excursion into the wayside quagmires had produced the desired effect.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make a wide stride— To make great and rapid progress or advancement. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Liberia Flag Day (2021)The Liberian flag bears a striking resemblance to the American flag, a reminder of the historical ties between this West African country and the United States. Eleven horizontal stripes represent the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, while the single white star signifies Liberia's former position as the sole free black state in Africa. Flag Day, a patriotic day paying homage to Liberia's national emblem, is an official public holiday. Citizens and public buildings display their flags, and parades often feature schoolchildren and military units. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leftoverspick-up, pick-up dinner - A pick-up or pick-up dinner is one made up of leftovers. More... ort, orts - An ort is a morsel or remaining scrap; orts is another name for leftovers. More... leftover, relic, relief - Before leftovers were called leftovers, they were called relics, and, before that, relief. More... gallimaufry - A medley or confused jumble, especially a dish made of leftovers, from French gallimaufry, "ragout, hash." More... | |