Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lampblack
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Evaluative Adverbs that Indicate JudgmentThere are several types of evaluative adverbs, which can be classified according to their function. We can use evaluative adverbs to make judgments about someone's actions, including our own. "Wrongly" is an evaluative adverb that we can use in this way. What are others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GentlemanIn English law, a gentleman was one who bore a coat of armor, was entitled to bear arms, and ranked above yeomen. However, by the 19th century, the word’s association with social rank had diminished, and rather than signify a distinction of blood, the term came to describe a man who is cultured, courteous, and well-educated. Today, it is often used, alongside "lady," to emphasize norms expected in polite society. What qualities are associated with the Confucian "gentleman," the junzi? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Tensions between US and USSR First Described as "Cold War" (1947)Lasting from the end of WWII until 1991, the Cold War was a period of political hostility and military tension between the Western powers, primarily the US and its allies, and the Communist bloc. Although there were a number of military conflicts during this time, including the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War was waged mainly on political, economic, and propaganda fronts. Who first used the term "Cold War" to describe the conflict? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jules Hardouin Mansart (1646)Mansart was a French architect and town planner who completed the Palace of Versailles. Favored by Louis XIV, he was made the chief architect for royal buildings. After enlarging the château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he began work at Versailles. Much of his work was executed in Roman baroque style, but some of his designs at Versailles point toward the lightness and elegance of the rococo. The impressive Dôme des Invalides in Paris is considered his greatest achievement. Who was his great-uncle? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not from nature, but from education and habits, that our wants are chiefly derived.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have skin in the game— To have a personal investment, usually monetary, in the pursuit of some goal or achievement, especially in business and finance. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C.) (2024)In Washington, DC, April 16th is celebrated as Emancipation Day, commemorating the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. More than 3,000 slaves were freed under this agreement. Since 2005, the date has been a legal holiday in the District. Events are scheduled throughout the preceding week, and the observance culminates on the 16th in a day of festivities and entertainment, beginning with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in the morning. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wavecomber, breaker, roller - A long curving wave is a comber, a wave that curls over and dissolves into foam is a breaker, and a long wave moving steadily shoreward is a roller. More... scend - As a noun, it is the surge of a wave or the sea; as a verb, it means to pitch or surge up in a heavy sea. More... undulate - From Latin unda, "wave." More... wave - Meaning "movement of the sea," it seems to be an alteration of the earlier wawe, "wave," from Old English woeg, "motion, wave." More... | |