Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 10, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bedevil
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Compound and Simple PredicatesThe subject of a clause or sentence must always be performing at least one action, but there are many instances in which it performs more than one action. In such a case, in which the subject is related to two or more finite verbs, the sentence is said to have a "compound predicate." What is a "simple predicate"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 NefertariNefertari was the favorite wife of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, who reigned for 67 years in the 13th century BCE. Though little is known about Nefertari's origins, it is assumed she was of noble descent. As the mother of Ramesses' heir, she most likely enjoyed a high status. Ramesses honored her with a temple of her own next to his and built her the largest, most spectacular tomb in the Valley of the Queens. She is depicted in numerous paintings and statues, often playing what instrument? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mount Tarawera Erupts (1886)Mount Tarawera, a 3,646-ft (1,111-m) high volcanic peak on New Zealand's North Island, consists of several lava domes that were split apart by an explosive eruption in 1886, which destroyed surrounding villages and killed more than 100 people. It also destroyed the nearby Pink and White Terraces, considered by some to have been the eighth wonder of the natural world. What ghostly apparition witnessed by a boatful of tourists, including a clergyman, is said to have been a portent of the eruption? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales (1688)Known as "The Old Pretender," Stuart was the son of the exiled James II of England and claimant to the English and Scottish thrones. Raised in France, he was proclaimed King of England by French King Louis XIV upon his father's death in 1701. However, the English Parliament passed an act excluding the male line of Stuarts from succession, and various plots and rebellions to restore him to the throne failed. What was the movement to restore the Stuart line to the throne called? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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go stir-crazy— To become acutely anxious, restless, irritable, irrational, and/or depressed from remaining for too long in an unstimulating, confined, and/or isolated environment. "Stir" in this usage is a slang word for prison. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Time Observance Day (2023)Emperor Tenchi (or Tenji) of Japan (626-671) is credited with making the first water clock, a device that measured time by the amount of water leaking out of a vessel. The Japanese honor their 38th emperor on June 10, the day on which he first ordered the hour to be announced by sounding temple bells and drums. The Rokoku Festival, or Water Clock Festival, is held on this day at the Omi Jingu Shrine in the city of Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, where the emperor's water clock is housed. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: impactfighting fire with fire - Early American settlers had to put out great prairie fires and learned that setting a circle or strip of land on fire could stop the path or lessen the impact of a big fire—giving us the phrase "fighting fire with fire." More... freezing rain - Rain that freezes on impact with the ground or objects. More... draw - The billiard ball's recoil after impact. More... impinge, infringe - To impinge is to come into contact or encroach or have an impact; to infringe is to encroach on a right or privilege or to violate. More... | |