Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, March 12, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bird's-eye
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Demonstrative AdjectivesLike all adjectives, demonstrative adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. There are four common demonstrative adjectives in English: "this," "that," "these," and "those." Where do they always appear in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The FauxhawkIn the early 1980s, the hairstyle known as the mohawk—named after the Native American tribe of the same name–became popular among young people in the punk subculture. The look is achieved by shaving both sides of the head and leaving a strip of hair on the crest of the scalp. Decades later, the fauxhawk was introduced. A portmanteau of faux—meaning fake—and mohawk, the hairstyle is created without shaving the hair on the sides of the head. What celebrities helped to popularize the fauxhawk? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 California's St. Francis Dam Fails (1928)Constructed between 1924 and 1926, the St. Francis Dam was a concrete gravity-arch dam designed to act as a reservoir to store water for the Los Angeles Aqueduct. In 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, and the resulting flood of 12 billion US gallons (45 billion liters) of water killed more than 450 people. The dam's collapse was the worst American civil engineering failure of the 20th century and remains the second-greatest loss of life disaster in California's history, after what event? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott (1832)Boycott was the estate agent for the Earl of Erne, an absentee landowner in County Mayo, Ireland, at a time when the Irish Land League was pressing for agrarian reform. In 1880, Boycott's refusal to reduce rents for tenant farmers, combined with his attempted eviction of 11 of them, led the League to launch a campaign of ostracism and isolation—now known as a "boycott"—against him and his family. Upon finding himself suddenly without servants, farmhands, or local services, Boycott did what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Considering the unforeseen events of this world, we should be taught that no human condition should inspire men with absolute despair.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (flat) on (one's) back— To have no strength or ability to get up. Often used when someone is sick or injured, but it can be used figuratively as well. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Girl Scout Day (2019)This observance marks the anniversary of the founding of the American Girl Scouts by Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927) in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912. The day is the focal point of Girl Scout Week, which begins on the Sunday before March 12 and is observed by Girl Scout troops nationwide in various ways—with community service projects, anniversary parties, and plays. The 80th anniversary in 1992 was celebrated with various events, including the kick-off of a national service project on the environment. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spikepricket - A candlestick with a spike for holding up the candle (or the spike itself). More... barb - As any type of spike or projection, it is based on Latin barba, "beard"; it is also a piece of vertically pleated linen worn over or under the chin, as by nuns. More... brad - A small or thin wire nail, it is from Old Norse broddr, "spike." More... spike - Probably borrowed from Dutch spiker, "long sharp piece." More... | |