Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, May 25, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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deadening
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Proper Order for Adverbs of TimeRemember, adverbs of time can be used to describe three different aspects: duration, frequency, and certain points in time (when). If we are using multiple adverbs of time in the same sentence, and if there is no special emphasis given to one aspect over another, in what order do they generally appear? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ask and EmblaIn Norse mythology, the first two creatures were the giant Ymir and the cow Audhumla. Ymir fathered a race of giants, and Audhumla created the first god, Buri. Buri's son, Borr, fathered the gods Odin, Vili, and Ve, who together destroyed Ymir and from his body fashioned the heavens and the earth. From two trees, the gods created the first man and woman—Ask and Embla. Ask's name derives from an Old Norse word meaning "ash tree"—from which he was formed. What is the derivation of Embla's name? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "Spider Dan" Scales 110-Story Sears Tower (1981)After witnessing a deadly high-rise hotel fire, Dan Goodwin resolved to call attention to the need for better skyscraper firefighting and rescue techniques. Six months after the blaze, he donned a homemade Spider-Man suit and, using suction cups and climbing gear, began an ascent of Chicago's Sears Tower—then the world's tallest building. He reached the top seven hours later and was promptly arrested. What structure—formerly the world's tallest—did he climb with no equipment, twice in one day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Beverly Sills (1929)Sills was an American operatic soprano. She sang on the radio as a child and made her operatic debut in 1946. Her 1966 performance in Julius Caesar made her an opera star, not just for her voice, but also for her acting. After 25 years of singing with the New York City Opera, she became its director, and she also served as chairman of the board of New York's Lincoln Center and of the Metropolitan Opera. In 2006, she claimed to have stopped singing, even in the shower, for what reason? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Failure or success seem to have been allotted to men by their stars. But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their star or against it, and in the whole universe the only really interesting movement is this wriggle.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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mess of pottage— Something of little, trivial, or no value but which appears to be attractive or valuable on first reckoning. An allusion to Esau in Genesis 25:29–32, who sells to Jacob his birthright to his family's estate for a bowl of lentil stew (pottage). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Moving Day (Scotland) (2023)The idea of packing up one's belongings and changing residences on a particular day has been a tradition in many countries. In Scotland, it was called Flitting Day and took place on May 25. The decision of whether to "sit or flit" was up to the tenant, but "flitting" seemed to be more common. On Flitting Day, they had to vacate their houses by noon, which often meant a great upheaval for the family during the preceding day or two. Apparently, the novelty value of flitting outweighed the boredom of sitting. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: implyimply, infer - A speaker or writer implies, a hearer or reader infers; implications are incorporated in statements, while inferences are deduced from statements. Imply means "suggest indirectly that something is true," while infer means "conclude or deduce something is true"; furthermore, to imply is to suggest or throw out a suggestion, while to infer is to include or take in a suggestion. More... intent, intention - Intent implies a sustained unbroken commitment or purpose, while intention implies an intermittent resolution or an initial aim or plan. More... | |