Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 2, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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laconic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Misplaced ModifiersWhen we use participles as adjectives, it's important that the noun modified is clearly stated and that the participle appears as close to it as possible. Otherwise, we run the risk of having a "misplaced modifier," which is what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SnoringSnoring occurs when the soft palate, uvula, tongue, tonsils, or muscles in the back of the throat rub against each other and generate vibrations during sleep. One in five adults is a chronic snorer, and nearly half of normal adults snore occasionally. The likelihood that a person snores increases with age, and about half of people over 60 snore regularly. Snoring can sometimes be remedied by sleeping on one's side rather than on one's back. What are some treatment methods for more serious cases? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Wal-Mart Store Opens in Rogers, Arkansas (1962)Now the world's largest corporation, the Walmart chain of superstores was founded by Sam Walton, a former US Army Captain with an economics degree. Walton owned and ran a chain of five-and-dime stores in Arkansas before he opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962. In the 50 years since, the company, which sells brand-name goods in high volume at low prices, has flourished. It now has 8,500 stores operating in over a dozen countries. What was the last US state to get a Walmart? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Patrice Lumumba (1925)Lumumba was an African nationalist leader and the first elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. The early years of independence were tumultuous, and Lumumba held his position for just weeks before being deposed. He was later executed by firing squad. His death was not officially announced for three weeks, and rumors swirled about US and Belgian involvement. Who had plotted earlier to kill Lumumba with poisoned toothpaste? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 How is it that the poets have said so many fine things about our first love, so few about our later love? Are their first poems their best? Or are not those the best which come from their fuller thought, their larger experience, their deeper-rooted affections?George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be on (one's) best behavior— To be very polite or exercise exceptionally good manners. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bahia Independence Day (2025)The consolidation of Brazilian independence in the state of Bahia is remembered each year with a procession following the path that the Brazilians took when they defeated Portuguese troops there in 1823. Folkloric characters like the caboclo, who symbolizes the superiority of native strength over the colonizers, have worked their way into this primarily civic celebration. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sufferimpatient - Meaning "not able to bear or suffer," based on Latin pati, "to suffer." More... compatible - Its base is Latin compati, "suffer with." More... harrow, harrowing - To harrow is to wound the feelings or cause to suffer—which gives us harrowing. More... suffer - To suffer something is, etymologically, to "hold or sustain it from underneath," from Latin sufferre, "sustain." More... | |