Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 1, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unskillful
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive AdverbsConjunctive adverbs (also called linking adverbs or connecting adverbs) are a specific type of conjunction specifically used to connect two independent clauses. What punctuation mark is traditionally used when we join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Third Servile WarThe Servile Wars were three slave uprisings—the last of which was led by the gladiator Spartacus—that took place in the later years of the Roman Republic. With a force of 90,000 gladiators, slaves, and peasants, Spartacus overran most of southern Italy in 73 BCE. He led his army north, hoping to release them to find freedom, but they refused to abandon their campaign. After Spartacus was killed in battle, the revolt was cruelly put down by Crassus and Pompey. How were the survivors punished? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Malbone Street Wreck (1918)One of the deadliest train crashes in US history took place during a strike of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, some of whose members operated elevated trains for the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). To keep service running, the BRT brought in inexperienced motormen to replace the striking workers. That evening, a five-car train derailed in the Malbone Street tunnel after negotiating a curve too quickly, killing 93. How many hours of training had the train's operator received? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Stephen Crane (1871)Often classified as the first modern American writer, Crane was among the first to introduce realism into American literature. He achieved international fame with his masterwork, The Red Badge of Courage, which depicts the psychological turmoil of a young Civil War soldier. While traveling as a war correspondent, Crane survived a shipwreck and ended up adrift in a dinghy. This ordeal inspired him to write the acclaimed story "The Open Boat." What took his life when he was just 28? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are only two styles of portrait painting, the serious and the smirk.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a fishbowl— A place, situation, or environment in which one has little or no privacy. A reference to the (typically) spherical bowls in which pet fish are often kept, which can be seen into from all sides. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Samhain (2023)This ancient Celtic harvest festival was celebrated at the beginning of winter. According to Celtic folklore, this was the day when the souls of the dead and other supernatural entities gathered and would have access to the human realm—thus giving rise to the fears about ghosts and goblins that we now associate with Halloween, or Samhain Eve. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: newsgazette - A gazzetta, a Venetian coin of little value, gave rise to the phrase gazzetta de la novita, "halfpennyworth of news," which eventually gave us gazette. More... silly season - Any slow news period characterized by trivial news or no news. More... tidings - Probably comes from Old Norse tithindi, "news of events." More... report - To report something is etymologically to "carry it back," from Latin reportare; the metaphorical sense of "bringing back news" also developed in Latin. More... | |