Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, October 17, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Collective Adjectives and Verb TenseCollective adjectives are a subgroup of nominal adjectives, or adjectives that act as nouns. They are used to refer to a group of people based on a characteristic that they share. What verb forms do collective adjectives have to take? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Were-JaguarThe were-jaguar is one of the most prominent and enigmatic designs of the Olmec people, who flourished between 1200 BCE and 400 BCE in south-central Mexico. Seen in murals and statues, the design is characterized by a down-turned mouth, almond-shaped eyes, fleshy lips, and a cleft forehead. Though the term is derived from the Old English "were," meaning "man," and "jaguar," the predatory cat revered by the Olmec people, some scholars believe were-jaguars represent a different animal. Which one? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The First British Open Is Held in Scotland (1860)The Open Championship of the British Isles, or the Open, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious golf championship tournaments in the world. It began in 1860 at Scotland's Prestwick course and is now rotated among select courses in England and Scotland. The first tournament was won by Willie Park, who also recorded the tournament's highest single-hole stroke total—21. Though today the Open has a multimillion-dollar prize fund, there was no prize money initially. Instead, Park won what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (1938)Knievel was an American daredevil and icon of the 1970s. He began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager, then embarked on an incredibly varied career that included professional hockey, a stint in the army, work in copper mines, and eventually crime—safecracking and holdups. In 1965 he "went straight" and took up performing dangerous and thrilling stunts, which did not always go smoothly and eventually earned him the record for most broken bones in a lifetime. What canyon did Knievel try to jump? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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dodge a bullet— To narrowly avoid something or some situation that turns out to be undesirable, disastrous, dangerous, or otherwise harmful. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (2016)A former slave, Jean-Jacques Dessalines (ca. 1758–October 17, 1806) played a pivotal role under the command of Toussaint L'Ouverture in the Haitian struggle for independence from France. Dessalines ruled Haiti as Emperor Jacques I for two years before he was assassinated in a coup. It is Dessalines' legacy as a freedom fighter and a founding father that Haitians remember on this official holiday commemorating the anniversary of his death. Haitians observe the holiday by participating in street parades in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and other cities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: reducediminish - A blend of diminue, "speak disparagingly," and minish, "reduce in amount, degree, influence, power." More... formulate - Can mean "reduce to a formula." More... moderate - Etymologically, it means "keep within due measure," and is derived from Latin moderari or moderare, "control, reduce." More... minimize - Means to reduce to an absolute minimum—not to play down or soften. More... | |