Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 3, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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penitent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Choosing the Correct Demonstrative Adjective"This," "That," "These," and "Those" are the four common demonstrative adjectives in English. Which ones are used to refer to people and objects that are plural? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Sarah Churchill, Duchess of MarlboroughSarah Churchill was one of the most influential women in British history. A childhood friend of Queen Anne, she served as a lady of the bedchamber after Anne's marriage, and when Anne acceded to the throne in 1702, Sarah enjoyed great favor at court along with her husband, the duke of Marlborough. She was a strong-willed woman and her influence grew until her Whig sympathies alienated Anne, who dismissed her in 1711. Who are a few of her famous descendents? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Illinois Becomes the 21st US State (1818)At the end the French and Indian Wars, France ceded the entire Illinois region to Britain. This region was an integral part of the Old Northwest that was brought within US boundaries 20 years later by the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. In 1787, the area was officially designated the Northwest Territory. Made part of Indiana Territory in 1800, Illinois was granted statehood in 1818. In recent years, Illinois has earned recognition for being what sort of state? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Brinton McClellan (1826)At the outbreak of the American Civil War, McClellan was placed in command of the Union forces in Ohio. Appointed general-in-chief of the army by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, he cautiously conducted the Peninsular Campaign but failed to take Richmond. At the Battle of Antietam, he failed to destroy Robert E. Lee's army, and Lincoln removed him from command. In 1864, he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president against Lincoln. What did Lee once say about McClellan? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 How paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children.Charles Darwin (1809-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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advanced in years— Of an older age. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Blowing the Midwinter Horn (2019)The custom of Midwinterhoorn Blazen in the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, is believed to have originated more than 2,000 years ago. The local farmers make their winter horns out of pieces of birch wood, and they produce a piercing wail that carries for miles over the frozen countryside. Although in pagan times the blowing of the horns was thought to rid the earth of evil spirits, today the horns announce the coming of Christ. In Oldenzaal, a special melody composed by the area's champion hornblower is played beginning at dawn on Advent Eve and continuing until Three Kings' Day (Epiphany). More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sequencearithmetic progression - A sequence in which each term is obtained by the addition of a constant number to the preceding term, as 1, 4, 7, 10, 13. More... initialism, alphabetism, acronym - Initialisms (sometimes called alphabetisms) are formed from the initial letters of a string of words and are pronounced as a sequence of letters, e.g. BYOB, USA, DVD. Acronyms are formed from the initial letters or parts of words in a sequence, but have the distinction of being pronounceable words, e.g. RADAR, SCUBA. More... solfeggio, gamut - Solfeggio and gamut are words formed on the sequence of musical notes. More... | |