Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, October 28, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bedraggled
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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What vs. WhichThe interrogative adjectives "what" and "which" are often interchangeable. In most instances, we can use either one without causing confusion for the reader. However, if there is clearly a limited number of options to choose from, which interrogative adjective is preferred? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Johann ReichhartBorn into a family of professional executioners, Reichhart executed about 3,000 people in Germany during his career, which began in 1924. Most of the people he dispatched were convicted of political crimes under the Nazi regime. He was later employed to help execute Nazi war criminals by hanging. Said to have been a lonely man who sought to execute the condemned as quickly as possible to shorten their suffering, he reportedly preferred what method of execution? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Maxentius Becomes Emperor of Rome (306 CE)Shortly after Roman co-emperors Diocletian and Maximian retired, Maximian's successor, Constantius, died. The Romans, discontented with the shift of power away from Rome, supported Maximian's son, Maxentius, who claimed the throne. His father came out of retirement to help him when Severus and Galerius claimed the throne and tried to overthrow him. Severus was compelled to surrender, and Galerius withdrew. Maxentius and his father fell out, however, and Maxentius was defeated by whom in 312 CE? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837)Tokugawa was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The Tokugawa family held the shogunate and controlled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Beginning at the time of Yoshinobu's birth, there were numerous peasant uprisings and samurai unrest. Undermined by increasing foreign incursions, the Tokugawa were overthrown by an attack of provincial forces from Choshu, Satsuma, and Tosa, who restored the Meiji emperor to power. Yoshinobu resigned in 1867. How did he spend his retirement? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One quality may be the contrary of another; thus justice is the contrary of injustice, whiteness of blackness, and so on.Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be in for a treat— To be guaranteed to receive or experience something unexpectedly pleasant or beneficial. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ochi Day (2021)Ochi Day is a national holiday in Greece, commemorating the day during World War II when Greeks said "ochi" ("no") to an attempted incursion ordered by Italy's fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. On October 28, 1940, the Italian ambassador to Greece called on General Ioannis Metaxas, the prime minister, to demand that Italian troops be allowed to occupy areas in Greece. Metaxas curtly responded, "Ochi." The Italians invaded, but were routed by the Greeks. Ochi Day is observed in Greece with military and school parades; it is also a public holiday celebrated in Cyprus with parades. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: remainbide one's time - Based on abide, meaning "remain" or "to wait awhile." More... marcescent - Describes leaves that wither but remain attached to the stem. More... mansion, mansionary - Mansion first meant the action of living or remaining in a place, from French manere, "remain," from Latin mansio, "staying"; mansionary is an adjective meaning "resident." More... stick-in-the-mud - Based on the notion of "to stick in the mud, to be content to remain in an abject condition." More... | |