Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 16, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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colloquial
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Present Perfect Continuous TenseThe present perfect continuous tense is formed by using the present tense of the auxiliary verb "have" (or "has," if used with third-person singular pronouns) along with "been" (the past participle of the auxiliary verb "be") and the present participle ("-ing" form) of the "main" verb. Generally, when do we use the present perfect continuous? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Adirondack Forty-SixersThe Adirondack Forty-Sixers is a club whose members have successfully climbed all 46 of the traditionally recognized High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains in New York. The first "46ers" devised the criteria for the club in the early 20th century, selecting only those summits that rise more than 4,000 ft (1,219 m) above sea level and have at least 300 ft (91 m) of vertical rise on all sides. Some take the challenge further and re-climb all the peaks in winter. How long is the winter 46 season? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 LSD Is First Synthesized by Swiss Chemist Albert Hofmann (1938)Ergot, a toxic fungus that grows on rye, can cause spasms and hallucinations if accidentally ingested. In 1938, Hofmann was researching potentially useful derivatives of ergot when he first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). However, he did not discover its hallucinogenic properties until five years later, when he accidentally absorbed some of the substance through his fingertips. In 1947, his laboratory introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug. What is "Bicycle Day"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Simon Kaufman (1889)Kaufman was an American dramatist and humorist who co-wrote more than 40 plays, many of which became tremendously successful. His collaboration with Moss Hart produced such plays as Once in a Lifetime and You Can't Take It With You, and he also worked on the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera. Kaufman was also an influential drama critic for New York newspapers and was known for his caustic wit. What did he once suggest as a way to avoid crowds during a flu epidemic? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All things are admired either because they are new or because they are great.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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pound sand— To engage in pointless, menial efforts or labor. Used especially as an imperative to express disdain, contempt, or dismissal. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bard of Armagh Festival of Humorous Verse (2025)The town of Armagh, Northern Ireland, is featured in a famous ballad called "The Bard of Armagh." That poem's title inspired the name of the Bard of Armagh Festival of Humorous Verse, an annual event that has taken place since 1993. Poets appear before audiences to recite their works and compete for best poem. To determine the official entries, a selection process was established that ensures each poem does not exceed a length of 650 words and features humorous verse suitable for a family audience. The finals usually take place at the Armagh City Hotel. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: hirefreelance - Comes from the knights whose lances were free for hire and who were not pledged to one master; originally, a freelance was a free companion or a person free of occupational or political party obligation or allegiance. More... hire - As a noun, it originally meant the payment for the use of something. More... claque - A group of people hired to applaud an act or performer. More... dry lease, wet lease - To rent an aircraft without a crew is a dry lease; a wet lease is to hire an aircraft with a crew. More... | |