Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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embitter
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining VoiceVoice is a grammatical feature that describes the relationship between the verb and the subject in a sentence. There are two main types of voice: active voice and passive voice. There is also a third type of voice that is less commonly used. What is it called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Ishtar GateThe Ishtar Gate was a massive entryway built in the ancient city of Babylon around 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. Named for the goddess Ishtar—an ancient fertility deity and the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylon—the gate was more than 38 feet (12 m) high and adorned with images of 575 dragons and bulls in 13 rows. Through the gate ran the stone- and brick-paved Processional Way, lined with 120 brick lions. Where is there a reproduction of the Ishtar Gate? 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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 I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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go to hell in a handcart— To be in an extremely and increasingly bad or ruinous condition; to be on the inevitable path to utter failure or ruin. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dally in the Alley (2020)Dally in the Alley is a one-day arts fair that takes place on the Saturday after Labor Day in the North Cass neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. The Dally began as a community block party and art fair in 1977. It expanded into a performing arts festival and moved to its current location in 1982, when it became known as the "Dally in the Alley," the name of an English pub song. Each year more than 30,000 visitors attend the festival, which includes music, a curated art show, poetry and writing workshops, children's activities, food, and refreshments—particularly beer. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: heardphoneme - A word for a hallucination in which voices are heard. More... pig's whisper - A loud whisper, meant to be heard. More... noises off - Sounds created offstage to be heard during a play's production; the term has been extended to mean distracting or intrusive background noise. More... pink noise - Random white noise that has been adjusted so there is equal energy per octave and an equal amount of each signal can be heard. More... | |