Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, January 8, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ecumenical
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions with AdjectivesPrepositions can sometimes appear after adjectives to complete or elaborate on the ideas or emotions the adjective describes. What are prepositions used in this way called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The MaypoleThe maypole is the center of activity during the celebration of May Day. The tall wooden pole is often decorated with flowers, greenery, and streamers. Dancers hold the loose ends of the streamers and weave intricate patterns as they encircle the pole and pass each other in dance. May Day festivities also include a May king and queen and people carrying garlands. The maypole probably originated in ancient fertility rites, but its symbolism has long been debated. What are some interpretations? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Innocent III Becomes Pope (1198)Lotario di Segni became Pope of the Catholic Church in 1198 at the age of 37, taking the name "Innocent III." He believed that just as things of the spirit take preeminence over things of the body, so should earthly monarchs be subject to the pope, and he set out immediately to realize this ideal. He was the virtual overlord of Christian Spain, Scandinavia, Hungary, and the Latin East and launched the Fourth Crusade, which went awry when the crusaders did what instead of going to the Holy Land? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Emily Greene Balch (1867)Balch was an American economist and sociologist who taught at Wellesley College until her dismissal in 1918 for opposing US involvement in World War I. She was a co-founder, along with Jane Addams, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and served as its international secretary from 1919 to 1922. In 1946, she shared the Nobel Peace Prize with longtime YMCA leader John R. Mott. Balch was among the first graduates of what American college in 1889? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be hounded (by someone or something)— To be pursued, chased, badgered, or pestered (by someone or something), especially persistently or relentlessly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Gudula's Day (2024)St. Gudula (or Gudule) is the patron saint of Brussels, Belgium. According to legend, Satan was so envious of her piety and influence among the people that he often tried to extinguish her lantern as she returned from midnight mass. But as she prayed for help, an angel would re-light the candle. Her relics were moved to Brussels in 978. Since 1047 they have remained in the church of St. Michael, thereafter called the Cathedral of St. Gudula. Her feast day is observed with great solemnity in Brussels, particularly at the cathedral that bears her name. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: swinegruntle - Can be used for swine, meaning "to make a little grunt." More... pig - Originally meant just "young pig" until the 16th century—the word in Old and Middle English for the animal was swine. More... swine - The collective (and ancestral) term for domesticated pigs and hogs; a hog is 120 pounds and ready for market, while a pig is immature and weighs less. More... | |