Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 19, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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turgid
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Difference from Adverbial "There"Although the word "there" can be used as a dummy pronoun, it can also be used as an adverb; it is important to know the difference between the two. When "there" is being used as an adverb, what is its function in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PhoneticsPhonetics is the study of the sounds of languages. This branch of linguistics focuses on the production, perception, and analysis of speech sounds from both a physiological and an acoustic point of view. Phonetics is not a new discipline—the first phoneticians were Indian scholars working to preserve the pronunciation of Sanskrit holy texts around 300 BCE, and the Classical Greeks are credited with the first writing system based on a phonetic alphabet. What is a phoneme? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Marilyn Monroe Sings "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" (1962)In 1962, US President John F. Kennedy's birthday was celebrated with a lavish party at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During the event, Monroe took the stage and delivered a sultry version of "Happy Birthday," substituting "Mr. President" for Kennedy's name, a gesture that has served to fuel the persistent rumors that she and Kennedy had engaged in an affair. The performance was one of Monroe's last major public appearances. What did Kennedy say about the song during the party? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Johns Hopkins (1795)Hopkins, a US merchant and financier, worked with an uncle as a wholesale grocer before going into business with his brothers in 1819. As he continued to prosper, his interests diversified into banking, insurance companies, steamship lines, and railroads. In his will, he set aside $7 million—the largest philanthropic bequest in US history at the time—for the founding of a free hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. His will also called for the establishment of what other institution? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What other dungeon is so dark as one's own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one's self!Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have done with (someone or something)— To be finished with someone or something; to cease being involved with someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Dunstan's Day (2024)St. Dunstan (c. 909-988) was the archbishop of Canterbury. According to legend, one day when Dunstan was working at the monastery forge, he looked up and saw the devil peering at him through the window. He quickly pulled the red-hot tongs from the coals and grabbed the devil's nose with them, refusing to let go until he promised not to tempt him any more. Howling in pain, Satan ran and dipped his nose in nearby Tunbridge Wells to cool it off, which is why the water there is sulphurous. St. Dunstan is the patron saint of blacksmiths, jewelers, and locksmiths. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sacksachet - Etymologically, a "little sack"—a small packet of perfumed matter. More... cul-de-sac - Literally French for "bottom of a sack," it also means "situation from which there is no escape"; it can be pluralized as cul-de-sacs or culs-de-sac. More... gunny - From Sanskrit goni, "sack," it is the material used for sacks, made from jute or sunn-hemp. More... haversack, knapsack, rucksack - Haversack is from German Haber, "oats," and Sack, "bag, sack"; knapsack is from German knapper, "to bite (food)" and zak, "sack"; rucksack comes from German Rucken, "back," and sack. More... | |