Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 17, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Exclamation PointAn exclamation point or exclamation mark ( ! ) is a punctuation mark commonly used to express strong, intense emotions in declarations. What else can it be used to add emphasis to? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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| This Day in History | |
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 The Armory Show Opens in New York City (1913)The Armory Show was an international exhibition of modern art held in 1913 at the 69th-regiment armory in New York City. Representing a range of avant-garde movements in Europe, the show was one of the most important art exhibitions ever held in the US. The Armory Show aroused the curiosity of the public and helped to change the direction of American painting. What painting at the exhibition was singled out by hostile critics as emblematic of the so-called insanity and degeneracy of modern art? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE (1930)Born in London, Rendell became an author of murder mysteries and psychological thrillers in the 1960s. She has since published dozens of award-winning novels—many featuring her Chief Inspector Wexford—and has been recognized for her sharp prose and psychological insight by both critics and audiences. Originally a journalist, Rendell was fired after writing about a society dinner she did not attend. What notable misfortune, which was absent from Rendell's article, befell the speaker of the event? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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| Idiom of the Day | |
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make game of (someone or something)— To ridicule, mock, or tease someone or something; to make fun of someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bonden Festival (2017)At the Bonden (or Bonten) Festival at Yokote in the Akita Prefecture of Japan, each district of the city has a team of young men to carry its bonden in a race to the Asahiokayama-jinja shrine. The bonden is a ten-foot bamboo pole, draped with heavy cloth and topped by a platform holding a figure of the Animal of the Year. Those carrying the bonden gradually increase their pace until they are running, often pushing members of competing teams to the ground to be the first to the top. The team that arrives first wins the privilege of offering its bonden to the kami, or god. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: swindleconfidence trick - First a swindle in which the victim was persuaded to entrust money or valuables to the swindler. More... swindler, swindle - Swindler and swindle are from German Schwindler, "promoter of wild schemes; cheat." More... chizz - To chizz someone is to cheat or swindle them. More... honeyfugle, honeyfuggle - To honeyfugle or honeyfuggle is to dupe, deceive, or swindle. More... | |