Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 4, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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inveigh
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adjective ComplementsAn adjective complement is a phrase or clause that provides information necessary to complete an adjective phrase’s meaning. Adjective complements are similar to but distinct from modifiers of adjectives. How do they differ? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The XYZ AffairThe XYZ Affair was a 1797 diplomatic episode that worsened relations between France and the US and led to the undeclared Quasi-War of 1798. When the US signed a treaty with Great Britain in 1795, France perceived it as evidence of an Anglo-American alliance. The French responded by seizing hundreds of US ships bound for British ports. US President John Adams sent a delegation to negotiate peace, but communication stalled when the French agents demanded bribes. Who were X, Y, and Z? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The "Flying Tailor" Dies after Failed Parachute Jump from Eiffel Tower (1912)Parachutes at the dawn of the aviation age were bulky and, inconveniently, had to be pre-opened. Among those trying to improve upon their design was French tailor Franz Reichelt. He had some success testing his designs on dummies, but he had no evidence that his parachute would work with a real person when he jumped from the Eiffel Tower before a crowd of spectators and reporters. The chute failed to open, and he plummeted to his death. How had he convinced the authorities to allow the jump? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles Lindbergh (1902)In 1927, Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in 33.5 hours, landing in Paris to a hero's welcome. He returned to the US a celebrity but moved to England in 1932 to escape the media frenzy surrounding the kidnapping and murder of his son. Returning to the US in 1940, he faced criticism for opposing US entry into WWII. Still, he flew combat missions for the US during the war. He helped invent what device that made open-heart surgery possible? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I'll give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell...their heart's in the right place, but their head is a thoroughly inefficient organ.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get a big head— To become arrogant or conceited; to assume an exaggeratedly high opinion of oneself. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Li Ch'un (2020)Li Ch'un is Chinese for "spring is here." This is one of 24 days in the Chinese calendar marking a change of season. The celebration of spring in some places has involved a procession of local dignitaries, dancers, singers, and musicians. Some of these carried a platform holding an ox and his driver made of paper. Each year the Chinese almanac, the T'ung Shu, gives specific instructions about the most auspicious colors to use in creating the ox and driver. People also traditionally mount a post with feathers outside their homes, which means that spring has officially arrived. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: movesascend - A planet ascends when it moves toward the zenith or comes above the horizon. More... substrate - The surface on which an organism lives or moves. More... acquitment - The series of moves that a magician makes to convince the audience that his/her hands are empty. More... haws - If an animal haws, it turns or moves to the left. More... | |