Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 14, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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demure
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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InfinitivesAn infinitive is the most basic form of a verb. It is "unmarked" (not conjugated for tense or person), and it is preceded by the particle "to." What is a split infinitive? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 London's East EndOnce a heavily industrial area, the storied East End of London attracted large numbers of immigrants and became known for its poverty and dense population. Vividly described by Charles Dickens, the neighborhood was haunted by Jack the Ripper in 1888, decimated by World War II bombing, and hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics. Natives of the East End, called Cockneys, are known for their dialect. A traditional definition holds that to be a Cockney, one has to have been born within the sound of what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ayatollah Khomeini Calls for the Execution of Author Salman Rushdie (1989)When British-Indian author Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, was published in 1988, it received much critical acclaim, but it was also the subject of intense controversy within the Muslim community due to its allegedly blasphemous content. Particularly outraged was Iran's political and religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a call for Rushdie's execution. What misunderstanding about the book's title, as translated into Arabic, may have contributed to the crisis? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anna Howard Shaw (1847)Some feminists observe Shaw's birthday in place of Valentine's Day, celebrating her legacy as a leading American suffragist, doctor, and lecturer. During World War I, she coordinated women's activities in the war effort, becoming the first woman to earn the Distinguished Service Medal. After becoming a close confidante of Susan B. Anthony, Shaw worked as one of the most effective speakers of the suffrage movement. She was also a minister who became the first woman to be ordained by what church? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Promises and pie-crusts are made to be broken.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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ball the jack— Speed up. Go fast. This phrase came from the American rail industry, in which a train was nicknamed a "jack," while "highball" meant to proceed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Valentine's Day (2023)How St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers remains a mystery, but one theory is that the Church used the day in an attempt to Christianize the old Roman Lupercalia, a pagan festival that entailed putting girls' names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. The Church substituted saints' names for girls' names, but, by the 16th century, it was once again girls' names that ended up in the box. Eventually, the custom of sending anonymous cards or messages to those one admired became the accepted way of celebrating St. Valentine's Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mechanismmechanical pencil - Pushes graphite out by a mechanism such as a spring or a screw. More... pinwheel - Originally a mechanism in a clock. More... gadget - May come from French gachette, which is or has been applied to various pieces of mechanism, or from Gaget, the person who created the first so-called gadgets—miniature Statues of Liberty sold in Paris—or from a Navy term for a tool or mechanical device for which one could not recall the name. More... rack, pinion - Rack is the linear gear and pinion is the circular gear in a mechanism. More... | |