Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, October 22, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unlettered
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Constructing Negative Interrogative SentencesAs with all negative sentences, we generally form the negative interrogative by adding the word "not." How do we know where to put "not" in the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MondegreensA mondegreen is a series of words that result from the mishearing of a statement or lyric, creating an often humorous new meaning for the original phrase. Perhaps one of the most famous mondegreens is the misinterpretation of the line "there's a bad moon on the rise" in Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Bad Moon Rising" as "there's a bathroom on the right." The word "mondegreen" was coined in 1954 by writer Sylvia Wright and is itself a mondegreen. From what misheard phrase did it originate? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Final Attack by the Beltway Sniper (2002)For three weeks in October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Washington, DC, metropolitan area by shooting random victims from a distance. Ten people were killed and three others wounded in the spree, which was later linked to earlier shootings. Two days after killing their final victim, Muhammad and Malvo were arrested after being found sleeping in the car from which they had shot their victims. Before the arrest, the pair had planned to travel to Canada to do what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Franz Liszt (1811)Liszt was a revolutionary figure of romantic music. Born in Hungary, he made his debut at age 9 and studied in Vienna with Salieri. After his father's death and a disastrous love affair, he almost gave up music for the priesthood. Nevertheless, "Lisztomania" swept Europe in the 1840s, and Liszt enthralled audiences with his astounding technique and grand, dramatic style of playing. Thereafter, he taught and composed prolifically. In 1861, he nearly married a princess but was thwarted—by what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Two friends, two bodies with one soul inspired.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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liquid courage— slang The decrease in timidity or inhibition that comes from imbibing alcoholic beverages. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Mother-in-Law Day (2017)Modeled on the celebration of Mother's Day and Father's Day, Mother-in-Law Day was first celebrated on March 5, 1934, in Amarillo, Texas, where it was initiated by the editor of the local newspaper. The observance was later moved to the fourth Sunday in October. Mothers-in-law often have not enjoyed the widespread respect and devotion that mothers have received over the years, but many people feel that mothers-in-law deserve a special day of their own. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perfumesilence - Lack of flavor in a distilled spirit or lack of scent in a flower, perfume, or spice is a "silence." More... perfume, eau de toilette, cologne, eau de cologne - Perfume or parfum is 20–40% oil and the highest concentration; eau de toilette is 10–18% oil, and cologne or eau de cologne is 3–9% oil. More... attar - A flower's essence, used for perfume. More... toilet water, eau de toilette - Eau de toilette, or toilet water, is a dilute form of perfume. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Study: People are aware of when they dieResearchers in New York say that after a person dies, their brain is still active. What this means, according to CBS contributors, is that “in many cases they can be aware that they've passed away.” The research has been done by a team at New York University’s ... More... | |