Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, November 28, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Adverbs of DegreeAdverbs of degree are used to indicate the intensity, degree, or extent of the verb, adjective, or adverb they are modifying. Where do they always appear in relation to the part of speech they describe? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ScrimshawScrimshaw is the decoration of bone or ivory objects, such as whale teeth and walrus tusks, with fanciful designs. Traditionally carved by Anglo-American and Native American whalers with a jackknife or sail needle and emphasized with black pigments, scrimshaw works, which often depict maritime scenes, date to at least the late 17th century. The craft reached its peak around the mid-1800s and is still practiced by whalers in Siberia and Alaska. What did early scrimshaw artists use for pigment? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Panama Gains Independence from Spain (1821)Situated on the thin isthmus that connects North and South America but divides the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Panama has long been a vital crossroad for trade and travel. Under Spanish control for more than 300 years, Panama finally broke with Spain to join a newly independent Colombia as the Spanish empire faltered. Today, in addition to celebrating that Independence Day, the country observes another. When did Panama separate from Colombia, gaining a second independence—and another holiday? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (1661)Not long after Hyde allegedly attended his wife's funeral dressed in women's clothes, the queen of England—whom Hyde had also reportedly dressed as during an official event—dismissed him from his post as governor of New York and New Jersey. The decision was purportedly prompted by mounting complaints from the colonists he governed, including myriad charges of corruption. He was later imprisoned for debt. What is known about the portrait that supposedly depicts him wearing a gown? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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that's my girl!— An expression used to express praise and pride in what has just been done or accomplished by one's daughter, or, less often, one's girlfriend or another female with which one has a relationship of some kind. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Albania Independence Day (2025)The Albanian people proclaimed their independence from the Turks on this day in 1912. The Turks first invaded this part of Europe around 1400, and they ruled the country for more than 400 years. It wasn't until the end of the Balkan War that Turkish rule was abolished and a proclamation of independence issued on November 28, 1912. Independence Day is a public holiday observed throughout Albania and is marked by a festive parade in Tirana, the capital. It is followed by Liberation Day on November 29, the day on which the invasions of German and Italian troops during World War II were ended in 1944. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: retreatretreatant - A person taking part in a retreat. More... anabasis, catabasis - An anabasis is a military expedition and a catabasis is the retreat of an army. More... ivory tower - Suggests elegant detachment in a cool, white aerie, where a poet or philosopher might retreat to think and write. More... resile, arsle - To resile or arsle is to recoil, retreat, or draw back. More... | |