Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, September 30, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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extenuate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Examples of PrepositionsPrepositions are used to express the relationship of a noun or pronoun (or another grammatical element functioning as a noun) to the rest of the sentence. The noun or pronoun that is connected by the preposition is known as the "object of the preposition." What are some common prepositions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The SariWorn chiefly in India and Pakistan, a sari is a woman's outer garment consisting of a length of lightweight cloth about 3 ft (1 m) wide and up to 30 ft (9 m) long. It is commonly worn with one end wrapped around the waist to form a skirt and the other draped over the shoulder or covering the head, but the way saris are draped as well as their fabrics, weaving styles, and motifs vary from region to region. What is the short-sleeved, midriff-baring blouse that is worn under the sari called? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mozart's The Magic Flute Premieres (1791)In the final year of his life, prolific composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produced the opera Die Zauberflöte—The Magic Flute—featuring a libretto by the actor Emmanuel Schikaneder. The work is considered a singspiel—an opera in German that contains spoken dialogue and is usually comic in tone. Mozart brought this form of light musical entertainment to a height of lyrical and symbolic art. The Magic Flute is said to contain what prominent Masonic elements and symbolism? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hans Geiger (1882)After receiving a doctorate in physics in Germany in 1906, Geiger traveled to England, where he assisted chemist Ernest Rutherford. In 1908, they designed an instrument to detect and count alpha particles, positively charged ionizing particles produced by radioactive decay. Two decades later, Geiger developed the sensitive, portable radiation counter that now bears his name. During World War II, he was a member of the Uranium Club, a group of German scientists who attempted to develop what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Don't let us rejoice in punishment, even when the hand of God alone inflicts it. The best of us are but poor wretches, just saved from shipwreck: can we feel anything but awe and pity when we see a fellow-passenger swallowed by the waves?George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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cut it close— To do or complete something very near to its limit, especially of time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rosh Hashanah (2019)Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the first two of the 10 High Holy Days that conclude with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is a time of prayer and penitence. The story of Abraham is read in the synagogue, and the blowing of the shofar ("ram's horn") serves as a reminder that although Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. Jews celebrate the New Year by eating a special rounded loaf of challah, symbolic of the continuity of life, as well as apples dipped in honey, symbols of sweetness and health. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: imposedboycott, embargo - A boycott is an organized popular protest, named for Captain Charles C. Boycott (1832-97), a land agent in Ireland to whom this was done in 1880; an embargo is usually imposed by a government. More... silentium - A place where silence is imposed (library, religious retreat). More... Pax Romana - An uneasy peace, as one imposed by a powerful state on a weaker or vanquished state. More... mumbletypeg - The children's game was first mumble-the-peg, descriptive of one of the penalties imposed on the loser. More... | |