Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 30, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hoodwink
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Two Dummy PronounsDummy pronouns are words that function grammatically as pronouns, but which do not have antecedents like normal pronouns do. What are the two dummy pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 4-H: Head, Heart, Hands, and HealthA youth organization administered by the Cooperative Extension System of the US Department of Agriculture, 4-H has over 9 million members between the ages of 5 and 21. With "learn by doing" as its creed, the goal of 4-H is to develop citizenship, leadership, and life skills through experiential learning programs. The organization is often associated with summer camps, county fairs, and state fairs, and it retains a strong connection to its agricultural roots. What is the 4-H motto? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Narva (1700)Sweden's power and influence in the Baltic region was growing when the young and inexperienced Charles XII came to the throne in 1697. Seeing their chance to end Swedish domination of the area, Charles's neighbors—Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark, and Augustus II of Poland—formed an alliance and attacked. At Narva, the first major battle of the Great Northern War, Charles's army soundly defeated the superior Russian forces. A few years later, Peter returned to Narva. What happened? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jonathan Swift (1667)Known as one of the greatest satirists in the English language, Swift was an ordained Anglican priest who devoted himself to exposing England's unfair treatment of his native Ireland. In his ironic 1729 tract "A Modest Proposal," he suggested that the Irish escape poverty by selling their children to by eaten by the English. His classic Gulliver's Travels is a ruthless satire of human follies. Swift once mocked a publisher of astrological predictions by making what prediction of his own? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents...and only one for birthday presents, you know.Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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kick the can down the road— Especially in politics, to postpone or defer a definitive action, decision, or solution, usually by effecting a short-term one instead. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Yemen Independence Day (2017)Independence Day in Yemen is November 30, a national holiday to commemorate Yemen's independence from the British. It was won on that day in 1967, when evacuation of British soldiers was complete and the leading political group, the National Liberation Front, declared the formation of the independent state of the People's Republic of South Yemen. National Day (May 22) observes the official proclamation of the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) in 1990. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: horrorhorrible, horror, horrid - Horrible, horror, and horrid are from Latin horrere, "stand on end" (hair) or "tremble, shudder," and the original sense of horrid was "bristly, shaggy, rough." More... horrific, horrendous, horrible, horrid - In decreasing degree of horror: horrific, horrendous, horrible, horrid. More... pant - The shock that makes you "gasp" is behind the word pant, from Latin phantasiare, "gasp in horror." More... terror, horror - Terror is stronger than horror, though it usually lasts for a shorter time. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Light Therapy Might Help People With Bipolar DepressionAs the months grow colder and darker, many people find themselves somewhat sadder and even depressed. Bright light is sometimes used to help treat the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Researchers are now testing light therapy to see if ... More... | |