Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, September 12, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lassitude
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using "Must" to Convey CertaintyThe modal verb "must" can be used to indicate that something is certain or very likely to happen or be true. Generally speaking, though, we do not use the negative of must ("must not" or "mustn't") to express a negative certainty or strong disbelief. What do we use instead? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Better to have loved and lostAlthough commonly misattributed to Shakespeare and others, the phrase “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” was actually written by Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It appears in his 1850 poem In Memoriam, A.H.H.. This poem, originally called “The Way of the Soul" and written over 17 years, captures Tennyson's doubt and despair following the sudden death of close friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. Hallam was only 22 years old when he died. What killed him? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nazi Commandos Rescue Imprisoned Benito Mussolini (1943)In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed by his own government. When German forces discovered that he was being held at a ski resort in the Apennine Mountains, they launched a daring rescue. Arriving on gliders, German troops overwhelmed Mussolini's captors and spirited him away without firing a shot. The operation was a major propaganda success for the Nazis. According to some accounts, what was Mussolini's reply when the paratroopers told him that Adolf Hitler had sent them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henry Louis "H.L." Mencken (1880)Often regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century, Mencken was a journalist, satirist, social critic, and cynic known as the "Sage of Baltimore," for the city where he lived his entire life. Perhaps best remembered for his satirical reporting on the Scopes evolution trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey trial," Mencken was frequently critical of myriad institutions. Why did the Arkansas legislature pass a motion in 1931 to pray for Mencken's soul? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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sit a spell— To sit down, relax, and socialize for a while at one's leisure. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt (2024)Although called Bad Durkheim Wurstmarkt, or Sausage Fair, this is actually Germany's biggest wine festival—the name is said to have originated about 150 years ago because of the immense amounts of sausage consumed. The opening day of the festival features a concert and a procession of bands, vineyard proprietors, and tapsters of the tavern stalls with decorated wine floats. The following days are a medley of fireworks, band playing, dancing, and singing through the night. Wine is served in glasses called Schoppen that hold about a pint. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spottedcheetah - Taken from Sanskrit citraka, "leopard," related to citra, "spotted, speckled, variegated." More... fleck - Of Scandinavian origin, it came from the adjective flecked, "spotted." More... piebald, skewbald - Piebald is being spotted with irregular patches of different colors, especially black and white; skewbald is spotted white and a color other than black. More... pinto - As in horse and beans, it is Spanish for "painted, mottled, spotted." More... | |