Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 6, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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snobbish
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions of AgencyA preposition of agency describes a person or a thing that has caused or is causing something to occur. Sentences containing prepositions of agency are usually written in the passive voice and employ which two prepositions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BoycottsPrincipally used by labor organizations to win improved wages and working conditions or by consumers to pressure companies to change their practices, boycotts can be employed in many ways. Though use of the method dates back further, the practice was named in 1880 for Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland whose ruthlessness in evicting tenants led his employees to refuse all cooperation with him and his family. What type of boycott is illegal in the US? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Gertrude Ederle Becomes First Woman to Swim across the English Channel (1926)Only five men had managed to swim across the 35-mile (56-km) English Channel by the time Ederle became the first woman to make the trip. On her second attempt, the 19-year-old Olympic medalist from America made the swim from France to England in 14 hours and 31 minutes—beating the male record-holder by two hours. Hours before Ederle reached England, the weather deteriorated. A supporter following her by boat called out and urged her to get out of the water. What was Ederle's reply? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lucille Désirée Ball (1911)Ball was the star of the tremendously popular 1950s television show I Love Lucy. Prior to her superstardom, Ball appeared in many B-movies, earning the nickname "Queen of the B's." With her rasping voice and a comic persona alternately brassy and feminine, she became the preeminent female star of the early decades of television. She and costar Desi Arnaz, married in real life and on I Love Lucy, divorced after the show ended. In what other shows and films did Ball appear? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When I talk of eyes, the stars come out! Whose eyes are they? If they are angels' eyes, why do they look down here and see good men hurt, and only wink and sparkle all the night?Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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gym bunny— Someone who is obsessively preoccupied with maintaining or improving their physique and thus spends a large amount of time at the gym to do so. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Busan Sea Festival (2020)Every August since 1999, the municipal government of the seaside town of Busan in South Korea has sponsored a nine-day Sea Festival on its main beaches. The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony featuring performances by popular singers and other entertainers and culminates that night in a spectacular fireworks display. Over the course of the festival, a variety of water sports are offered, as well as the Hanbada Festival for the Disabled and championship competitions in windsurfing and beach volleyball. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: withdrawanchorite - Its meaning of "hermit" derived from Greek ana-, "back," and chorein, "to withdraw." More... cease, cede - Cease and cede come from Latin cedere, "go away, withdraw." More... retire - From French retirer, from re-, "back" and tirer, "throw," its first sense was "withdraw to a place of safety or seclusion." More... take for the kitchen - To withdraw from a conversation or to remain silent. More... | |