Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, August 24, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cacophonous
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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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 Czech HedgehogsEarly in World War II, Germany relied heavily on the great striking power of its fast-moving tank formations. To defend against the threat, the Czechs lined their borders with large iron obstacles shaped like toy jacks. Though not immovable, they cause tanks to get stuck after driving over them. While the Nazis went on to annex Czech territory in the Sudetenland, these obstacles, known as "Czech hedgehogs," caught on with other combatants and were later employed in what famous battle? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Forced Resignation Prompts Brazilian President to Take His Own Life (1954)President Getúlio Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, holding power from 1930 to 1945 and 1951 to 1954. Though defeated in the presidential election of 1930, he led a successful revolt that gained him the presidency. Vargas then set up the totalitarian Estado Novo—"New State"—but was overthrown in a coup d'état in 1945. He regained the presidency six years later but committed suicide under threat of impeachment as his popularity dwindled. What were the last words in his suicide note? 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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 Life altogether is but a crumbling ruin when we turn to look behind.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| 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: recentAmazonian epoch - The Amazonian epoch is the most recent of the Martian geologic epochs, from 1,800 years ago to the present. More... grey, gray - The distinction in spelling between British grey and American gray is recent, popping up in the 20th century. More... Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene - Epochs indicating periods in the Earth's geology; Pleistocene means "most recent," Pliocene means "more recent," Miocene means "moderately recent," and Oligocence means "but a little recent." More... neoteric - Used to describe a person, especially an author, it means one belongs to modern/recent times—but it might also refer to a person having a modern outlook or new ideas; when used of things, it indicates that they are modern, new, or recent. More... | |