Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, May 20, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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fuss-budget
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adjective + "of"Because there are no distinct rules for determining how adjectives combine with prepositions, the best way to learn correct adjective and preposition combinations is by memorizing some of the most common pairings. What can be identified by an adjective paired with the preposition "of"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 False DoorsMany ancient Egyptian tombs contain a false door facing west—toward the land of the dead. Made of stone or wood, these doors do not open, as they were designed for the use of the departed, who were said to be able to pass through them. Nested door jambs were used to give the doors an illusion of depth. The living would lay gifts to the dead in front of the doors, which were often decorated with depictions of the tomb's owner receiving the offerings. Why did some tombs have two false doors? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Shake-Speares Sonnets First Published (1609)Shakespeare penned 154 sonnets in his lifetime. Likely written sometime in the 1590s, the majority of the poems were first published in a 1609 work titled Shake-Speares Sonnets. The first 126 of the 154 sonnets are addressed to a young man whose identity has long intrigued scholars. The publisher, Thomas Thorpe, wrote a dedication to the first edition in which he claimed that a person with the initials WH had inspired the sonnets. What are some theories about who the man might have been? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dolley Madison (1768)Dolley Madison was the wife of US President James Madison, whom she married in 1794, after the death of her first husband. Noted for her magnificence as a hostess as well as for her charm, Dolley was an extremely popular first lady and was a great asset to Madison's political career. During the War of 1812, she saved many state papers and a portrait of George Washington from the advancing British soldiers. Why did she perform the duties of the first lady during Thomas Jefferson's administration? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Sometimes I wonder why God ever trusts talent in the hands of women, they usually make such an infernal mess of it. I think He must do it as a sort of ghastly joke.Willa Cather (1873-1947) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (something) going for (one)— To have something that is favorable, beneficial, or advantageous to one. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Cameroon National Day (2024)National Day is a public holiday commemorating the people's vote to establish a united Republic of Cameroon on May 20, 1972. This day is also known as Constitution Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nakedgymnasium - A school where Greek youths were given athletic training while naked (gymnos). More... hare, rabbit, jackrabbit - Hares live in the open and bear young that have fur at birth, while rabbits live in burrows and bear young that are naked at birth; jackrabbits are hares, not rabbits. More... stark naked - A corruption of start naked, from Anglo-Saxon steort, "tail" —as it described being naked to the tail. More... stag - To go in stag meant to "go naked," which influenced the later "stag party." More... | |