Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 29, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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indiscretion
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions with NounsCertain prepositions can be used in conjunction with nouns to connect, emphasize, or provide clarification for ideas expressed in sentences. In this combination, how is the preposition always positioned? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bicycle CarsThough bicycles have many advantages over automobiles—they are less expensive, more energy-efficient, and easier to maintain—they offer little protection from the elements. For some people, this disadvantage makes bicycles impractical for daily use. Enter the bicycle car, also known as the velomobile. Similar to a recumbent bicycle, the velomobile boasts an aerodynamic shell that offers the potential for added speed and protection from bad weather. Why do some velomobiles have parachutes? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 WWII: Germans Firebomb the City of London (1940)By the end of the Blitz—Germany's eight-month nighttime bombing campaign in Britain—tens of thousands of people were dead and millions of homes lay in ruins. For about a two-month period, the country faced nightly attacks. One of the worst raids occurred on December 29, when much of London—including such historic landmarks as St. Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall—was destroyed or damaged by bombs and the fires they started. How many children were evacuated to the countryside during the Blitz? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Carmen Sylva (1843)In 1869, Elisabeth of Wied, the daughter of a German prince, married the future king of Romania, Carol I. An artistic and imaginative queen consort, she wrote prolifically—in four languages—under the pseudonym Carmen Sylva. She composed poetry, plays, novels, and essays, at times collaborating with her lady-in-waiting. Her 1882 collection of witty aphorisms won a French literary award. Despite knowing it was illegal, she is said to have encouraged her nephew—the heir to the throne—to do what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I'm not a bit changed—not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me—back here—is just the same.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the unwashed masses— The broader general public, especially those of the lower and lower-middle classes. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta of the Black St. Benito (2025)This fiesta is celebrated by a number of locales in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, and is especially popular in Bobures. After early morning mass, the chimbángueles, or vassals of the saint, put St. Benito's statue on a litter and surround it with flowers. They then carry it through the streets while performing an unusual bouncing kind of dance, in which they continually move forward and backward to the accompaniment of seven drums. Throughout the long procession, St. Benito's image is sprinkled with perfumes and presented with drinks of homemade whiskey. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: herdcutting horse - One trained to cut cattle out of a herd. More... pointer, point man - A pointer or point man was first a cowboy riding at the front of a herd of cattle. More... egregious - First meant "remarkably good" and "standing out or apart from the flock or herd; eminent"; its later derogatory sense is probably an ironical use. More... herd - As a verb, it first meant "keep safe, shelter." More... | |