Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, November 22, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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argot
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Hyphens with Single-Word Compound VerbsWe sometimes use other parts of speech, especially nouns and adjectives, to form verbs that describe a very specific action. When these are combined into a single word, we often use a hyphen to eliminate possible confusion when reading. What is an example? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SapphoThe subject of many legends, Sappho was a Greek lyric poet who lived more than 2,500 years ago on the island of Lesbos, where she was the leader of a thiasos, an informal female community. Her verse is characterized by her passionate love of nature and women, the latter of which gave rise to the term lesbian, derived from the name of her island home. She wrote in a variety of meters, one of which has come to be known as "Sapphic" in her honor. How many of Sappho's complete poems have survived? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Toy Story, First Feature-Length Computer-Generated Film, Is Released (1995)Released to universal acclaim, Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-generated film, as well as the first such film from Pixar Studios. Steve Jobs had purchased Pixar in 1986, but the company had yet to find its niche. When its 1988 short film Tin Toy won an Oscar, Disney took notice, and the two companies soon formed a partnership that would prove to be extremely successful, beginning with the release of Toy Story. What popular toy was cut from the original plot? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 André Gide (1869)A prolific and unconventional French writer, Gide was controversial for his confessional works, his frank defense of homosexuality, and his espousal of Communism—and subsequent disavowal of it after a visit to the Soviet Union. A champion of society's victims, he spurred reform of French colonial policy in Africa with books such as Travels in the Congo. In one of his most famous quotes, Gide advised that one should believe those who seek the truth and reserve doubt for whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Long brooding over those lost pleasures exaggerates their charm and sweetness.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a telling-off— To be scolded, rebuked, or reprimanded, as for a wrongdoing. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Cecilia's Day (2025)According to her apocryphal acts, which date from the fifth century, St. Cecilia was a Roman from a noble family who was put to death for her Christian beliefs; how she became the patron saint of music and musicians is not exactly known. In 1683, a musical society was formed in London especially for the celebration of St. Cecilia's Day. It held a festival each year at which a special ode was sung. The poet John Dryden composed his "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" in 1687 for this purpose. There are still many choirs and musical societies that bear her name today. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: weavenettles - Got their name because people used to weave them into nets. More... pretext - From Latin praetexere, "to disguise," from prae, "in front," and texere, "weave"—as something serving to conceal plans. More... texture - Once referred to a woven fabric, from Latin texere, "to weave." More... wasp - The insect traces back to an Indo-European root meaning "weave." More... | |