Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 24, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ignominy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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How to Conjugate "Be"The verb "be" is unique among verbs for having a huge variety of conjugations. Not only does it have irregular inflections for the past simple tense and past participle, but it also has specific forms depending on what two things? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mediterranean SeaAt 965,000 sq mi (2,499,350 sq km), the Mediterranean Sea is the world's largest inland sea. It is surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is linked to the Atlantic Ocean via the Strait of Gibraltar. Known as the “cradle of civilization,” it was a superhighway of transport in ancient times, allowing for trade and cultural exchange between communities in the area. The regions surrounding the sea have typically warm, dry, sunny climates. How many states have a coastline on the Mediterranean? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Black Friday (1869)In 1869, American financial speculators Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market by trying to prevent the sale of government gold, which they hoped to achieve by influencing President Ulysses Grant. The plan backfired when Grant discovered the plot and released $4 million of government gold for sale. On a day that came to be known as Black Friday, the price of gold plummeted, panic ensued, and thousands were ruined—though not Gould or Fisk. How did they gain access to Grant? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896)An American novelist and short-story writer, Fitzgerald was the literary spokesman of the "jazz age" of the 1920s. The characters in his books—which include This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, and his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby—lead madcap, gin-drenched, spiritually bankrupt lives that closely resemble his own. In his later years, Fitzgerald was plagued by financial worries and his wife's insanity. Why might he have lied about having tuberculosis? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Here is a golden Rule...Write legibly. The average temper of the human race would be perceptibly sweetened, if everybody obeyed this Rule!Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be as good as gone— To be very nearly, inevitably, or for all intents and purposes lost, departed, defunct, or deceased. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festa de la Mercè (2020)Nearly 400 events celebrate the patron saint of Barcelona, La Madonna de la Mercè, each year for a few days including September 24. In years past, the Madonna's feast was observed with religious processions, but these days the processions are augmented by the city's liveliest party of the year with fireworks, street art, live music and dancing, acrobats forming human towers, and sporting events. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: surroundedinvolve - First meant "enfold, surround, wrap." More... enclave, exclave - An enclave is a group or area different from the surroundings, a secured area within another secured area, from Latin clavis, "key"; an exclave is the same thing, but usually describes a portion of a country separated from the main part and surrounded by politically alien territory. More... woebegone - Begone in woebegone means "beset" or "surrounded," so the word means "beset by woe." More... glade - Originally referred to a part of water not frozen over, but surrounded by ice, drawing an analogy to the same word for an opening in the woods. More... | |