Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 22, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abysmal
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Present ParticipleThe present participle is the "-ing" form of a verb. This verb form is always the same, whether the verb is regular or irregular. What is the present participle of the irregular verb "run"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Colma, CAThere is a good reason the motto of residents of Colma, California, is "It's great to be alive in Colma!" The Bay Area city was founded as a necropolis in 1924 and is now home to 18 cemeteries—17 for humans and one for pets—containing the final resting places of Joe DiMaggio, Wyatt Earp, and William Randolph Hearst, among many others. Most of the city's land is devoted to memorial parks. What city once passed an ordinance evicting all of its cemeteries, resulting in their relocation to Colma? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Falkirk (1298)The Battle of Falkirk was a major battle in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was fought between the leader of the Scots, William Wallace, and King Edward I of England, also known as the Hammer of the Scots. In 1298, Edward I invaded Scotland and defeated a smaller force led by Wallace at Falkirk. Edward's longbowmen and cavalry decimated Wallace's spearmen, forcing him to retreat. What did Wallace do shortly after losing the battle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Emma Lazarus (1849)Lazarus was an American Jewish poet. She became an impassioned spokeswoman for Judaism after the Russian pogroms of the 1880s, writing many essays and a book of poems, Songs of a Semite, which contains her best work. Her writings caught the attention of Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom she shared a lifetime correspondence. She also worked for the relief of new immigrants to the US, and the famous closing lines of her sonnet "The New Colossus" were engraved on what monument? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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knock Anthony— obsolete To knock one's knees together while walking or running (i.e., be "knock-kneed"). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fête de la Madeleine (2024)The Magdalene Festival is observed in St. Baume, a forested region of Provence, France, on the anniversary of the death of Mary Magdalene. Legend has it that, wandering eastward from Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, she came to la fôret de la Baume, "the forest of the cave," a grotto where she spent 33 years living on wild roots and berries doing penance for her sins. Thousands of pilgrims have visited la Sainte Baume, the holy cave, since the 13th century. Although July 22 is the most popular pilgrimage date, the shrine is visited throughout the year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: kickcoup de savate - A kick with the flat of the foot. More... Gaelic football - A rough, football-like game mainly played in Ireland with 15 players to each side with the object of punching, dribbling, or kicking the ball into a goal. More... punt, bunt - Punt, as in "kick," may be from bunt, "push," used in baseball to mean "hit the ball softly." More... kick, punt - The dent in the bottom of a wine or champagne bottle is the kick or punt. More... | |