Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 21, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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one-horse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Linking Verbs with Prepositional PhrasesA linking verb can be followed by a prepositional phrase that acts as an adjective to describe the subject. What do these usually describe? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 FakirAs wandering religious devotees who embrace poverty and asceticism, Muslim fakirs are similar to the mendicant friars of the Christian tradition. They belong to brotherhoods of Sufi mystics. New disciples are typically bound to an individual teacher and follow an extensive initiation regimen that might include seclusion, sleep deprivation, and fasting. Often regarded as holy men with miraculous powers, fakirs subsist on alms. Whom did Winston Churchill once accuse of posing as a fakir? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Issue of The New Yorker Is Published (1925)The New Yorker is an American magazine known for its sophisticated tone, liberal political perspective, varied literary fare, and witty single-panel cartoons. It was founded by journalist Harold Ross, who aimed to create a sophisticated, metropolitan magazine—in contrast to publications such as Life, which he saw as unrefined. Now one of the most respected publications in the US, The New Yorker is recognized for its strict style and high-quality content. Who is its mascot? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jeanne Calment (1875)At the age of 100, Calment was still riding a bicycle around her native Arles, France. She lived on her own until she was 110 and smoked until she was 117. She saw the Eiffel Tower being built and remembered selling colored pencils to Vincent van Gogh as a girl in her family's shop. By the time she died in 1997 at the age of 122, Calment had lived the longest confirmed human life in history—and outlived her entire family. What foods have been cited as contributing to Calment's longevity? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make like a banana and split— humorous slang To depart or leave, especially at once or in a hurry. (A pun on "to split," a slang term meaning to leave or depart, and a "banana split," an ice-cream-based dessert featuring a banana halved lengthwise.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Shaheed Day (2025)Before becoming an autonomous country in 1971, Bangladesh had been East Pakistan ever since India gained independence from Britain in 1947. West Pakistan wanted to make its language, Urdu, the only official language of both Pakistans. Most of the people in East Pakistan spoke Bengali, and they opposed the restriction of the use of their language in government and commerce. In 1952, university students held protests that erupted in violence. Lives were lost, and, as a memorial, people form a procession from the Azimpur graveyard on February 21 each year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pulselight year - Not a length of time but a distance, the distance a pulse of light travels in one year (about 5.88 trillion miles). More... pea - Comes from Greek pison, "pulse, pease." More... asphyxia - Its original meaning was stoppage of the pulse. More... ictus - The beat of the pulse, based on the Latin word for "stroke." More... | |