Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 21, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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epicurean
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Anticipatory "It"There are a number of other situations where "it" can be used as a dummy pronoun, without pertaining to weather, distance, or time. What is the anticipatory "it"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BaalbekLocated in modern-day Lebanon, Baalbek is an ancient city noted for its extensive ruins. The city was identified with the worship of the Phoenician sun god Baal and called Heliopolis—city of the sun—by the Greeks. It became a Roman colony under Augustus, and work began there on some of the largest temples in the Roman Empire. It was later sacked by invaders and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1759. In the 6th century, eight columns were disassembled and sent to Constantinople for what purpose? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sirimavo Bandaranaike Becomes World's First Female Prime Minister (1960)After her husband's assassination in 1959, Bandaranaike became the first woman in the world to serve as a nation's prime minister. She led two coalition governments, from 1960–65 and from 1970–77, and promoted a new constitution that proclaimed a republic and changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. She was later stripped of her civil rights because of abuses as prime minister but reentered politics in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, she was again appointed prime minister by whom? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Don Knotts (1924)Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of the bumbling but earnest sheriff's deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. When the show first aired, Griffith—as Sheriff Andy Taylor—was to be the comedic lead, and Knotts was to play his straight man, but Knotts's Fife proved so funny that this was soon reversed. The role earned Knotts 5 Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy. In what film did he first appear with Griffith? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I dare say I am compelled, unconsciously compelled, now to write volume after volume, as in past years I was compelled to go to sea, voyage after voyage. Leaves must follow upon each other as leagues used to follow in the days gone by, on and on to the appointed end, which, being truth itself, is one—one for all men and for all occupations.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get the gist— To understand the central, essential, or general matter of something, such as an argument, speech, concept, process, etc., without being proficient in the more specific details. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Just for Laughs Festival (2023)Every July, Montreal hosts one of the largest comedy festivals in the world, the Just For Laughs Festival. Founded in 1983 as a small French-language show (Juste pour rire) comprised of only two nights, in 1985, the organizers opened the stage to English-speaking comedians, paving the way for newcomers like Tonight Show host Jay Leno and sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld to launch their careers. In subsequent years, the organizers extended the festival—today there are more than 1,300 shows and performances, featuring all kinds of comedy as well as juggling and performance art. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: twistedtwist-grip - A bicycle grip that may be twisted to change the gears is a twist-grip. More... pigtail - In the 17th century, it was tobacco twisted into a thin rope, which resembled the animal's tail. More... torsibility - The tendency to untwist after being twisted; it is also the degree to which something can be twisted. More... | |