Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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skeptic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicative AdjectivesA predicative adjective (or predicate adjective) is used in the predicate of a clause to describe either the subject of the clause or the direct object. Predicative adjectives that describe the subject of the clause will follow a linking verb. In such cases, they are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Schmidt Sting Pain IndexThe Schmidt Sting Pain Index is a scale that rates the relative pain caused by the stings of nearly 80 species of insects in the Hymenoptera order, which includes wasps, bees, and ants. It is mainly the work of entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who spent years subjecting himself to the stings, ranking them, and describing some of the experiences in colorful detail. Which insect's sting was described as producing "trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Grand Teton National Park Established (1929)Before US President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill creating Grand Teton National Park, the National Park Service and homesteaders around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, fought for decades about the best way to preserve the landscape there. Much of the steep Teton Range lies within the boundaries of the park. Its peaks rise above deep valleys, called "holes" by the first white trappers and traders in the area. It has been suggested that early French trappers named the Teton Range after what body part? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christopher Marlowe (1564)A shoemaker's son, Marlowe attended Cambridge University and then became an actor and dramatist in London. His plays, such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta, often center on a heroic personality ruined by his own ambition. Most critics hold that the poetic beauty of his language elevates his plays' violence to high art, and many believe that he influenced Shakespeare's work. At 29, he was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl, possibly due to his involvement in what covert activity? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Cruelty was the devil's own trade-mark, and if we saw any one who took pleasure in cruelty we might know who he belonged to ... On the other hand, where we saw people who loved their neighbors, and were kind to man and beast, we might know that was God's mark.Anna Sewell (1820-1878) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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handbags at dawn— A confrontation or disagreement that is highly aggressive, emotionally expressive, and/or highly dramatic, but which does not end or result in violence. Used originally and primarily in reference to football (soccer) players, who would be sent off if they engaged in violent actions, the phrase is a play on the clichéd "pistols at dawn," indicating a forthcoming pistol duel. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta de los Vaqueros (2020)This weeklong event in Tucson, Arizona, features the "world's longest non-motorized parade" and the largest outdoor midwinter rodeo in the United States. The fiesta starts with the parade—a two-mile-long procession of more than 200 entries, including old horse-drawn vehicles such as buckboards, surreys, and Conestoga wagons. The eight days of rodeo include the standard events, as well as daily Mutton Bustin' contests. In these, four- to six-year-olds test their riding skills on sheep. There are also demonstrations by the Quadrille de Mujeres, a women's precision-riding team. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: supportedwhatnot - A series of open shelves supported by two or four upright posts, for displaying knickknacks. More... oriel - A large, upper-story bay window, usually supported by brackets or on corbels. More... portico - Describes a covered walkway with a roof supported by columns and usually attached as a porch to a building. More... felly, felloe - The felly or felloe is the exterior rim on a wheel or the section of rim supported by a spoke. More... | |