Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 19, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cannoneer
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Gradable AdverbsWe can only make comparisons using "gradable adverbs," meaning adverbs that are able to move up and down on a scale of intensity. The majority of adverbs are gradable. As with comparative adjectives, we can state differences in scale by using what words and phrases before the comparative adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Diamond Head, HawaiiDiamond Head—Le'ahi in Hawaiian—is a peak along the rim of an extinct volcano in southeast Oahu. Its English name was given by 19th-century British sailors who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds. A prominent point in the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head was designated a national natural landmark to protect its slopes from the commercial development along world-famous Waikiki Beach. Why do scientists think that Diamond Head was formed by a short-lived eruption? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Battle of Iwo Jima Begins (1945)The island of Iwo Jima is only 8 sq mi (21 sq km) in area, but when US forces attacked the Japanese air base there during WWII, it became the site of one of the most severe campaigns of the war. More than 21,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 Americans died in the clashes. A photograph of US marines raising the American flag over Iwo Jima's Mt. Suribachi has since become one of the most famous images of the war. What was the US operation in Iwo Jima called? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 André Breton (1896)Breton was a French writer, critic, and editor. In 1919, he helped found the Dadaist review Littérature. Influenced by psychiatry and the Symbolist movement, he wrote poetry using the automatic-writing technique. In 1924, his Manifeste du surréalisme—Surrealist Manifesto—provided a definition of Surrealism as "pure psychic automatism." In 1938, he penned the manifesto Pour un art révolutionnaire indépendant with what one-time commander of the Red Army? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The new rage is to say that the government is the cause of all our problems, and if only we had no government, we'd have no problems. I can tell you, that contradicts evidence, history, and common sense.Bill Clinton (1946-) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (someone's) huckleberry— dated To be well or perfectly suited to someone's job, need, or purpose. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin (2024)On February 19, 1942, Japanese bomber and fighter planes conducted a devastating air raid on the town of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory. As a tribute to honor the dead and those who defended Darwin, an annual commemoration is held in Bicentennial Park by the Cenotaph, a monument to those slain in World War I. At 9:58, the exact time the attack began, a World War II air raid siren sounds. During some observances, Australian regiments will reenact the attack: ground units fire their guns, and fighter planes perform fly-bys over the memorial site. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: manuscriptacephalous - A manuscript lacking a beginning could be called acephalous. More... autograph - Comes from Greek, then Latin autographum, meaning "self-written"; it originally meant "author's own manuscript." More... manuscript - Originally an adjective meaning "written by hand"; manuscript can refer to a handwritten piece of music. More... palimpsest - Can describe a manuscript or writing surface that has been reused, erased, or altered while retaining traces of its earlier form—and, by extension, an object, place, or area that reflects its history. More... | |