Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, May 2, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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embellish
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining MitigatorsMitigators, a subset of adverbs of degree, are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less extreme or powerful. "Slightly" is an example of a mitigator. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fernando PessoaPessoa was a Portuguese poet and literary critic famous for having written under more than 70 different names. Four of these—his own, Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Álvaro de Campos—are well known. Each of his personas, or "heteronyms," has a putative biography and a distinct poetic voice. Many of his heteronyms had relationships with each other. Only after his death at age 47 did the rich world of his poetry become known. How old was he when he created his first heteronym? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "Nessie" Reported for the First Time (1933)More than 700 ft (213 m) deep, Loch Ness is the largest freshwater lake in the UK by volume. This makes it the perfect hiding place for a prehistoric creature—or so believers say. Though the legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back to at least 565 BCE, modern accounts of "Nessie" date only to 1933, the year a local newspaper began reporting sightings of a fearsome, dragon-like creature in the lake. What natural phenomenon, known as a seiche, may be responsible for some of the sightings? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Yongle Emperor (1360)Born Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor was the favorite son of the founder of China's Ming dynasty. He spent his youth developing a military career but was passed over for the throne. He rebelled and seized the throne from his nephew in 1402. As emperor, he greatly extended China's scope and influence. He moved the capital to Beijing, built the Forbidden City, and sponsored the compilation of an immense encyclopedia of Chinese culture and history. What was the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 He would always feel for her that impersonal admiration which is inspired by anything very large, like the Empire State Building or the Grand Canyon of Arizona.P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (some/any) qualms about (something or someone)— To have some or certain hesitations, apprehensions, uneasiness, or pangs of conscience (about something or someone). (Also often used in the negative to mean the opposite.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Land Diving (Nagol) (2020)On Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, land diving, or Nagol, is a centuries-old fertility ritual and the precursor of bungee jumping. Tree branches, trunks, and vines from the forest are used to create a tower—about 85 feet tall. Facing a test of resolve and courage, island men and boys ascend the tower with liana vines. After the diver leaps off the tower, the vines stretch nearly to the ground and the diver ducks his head out of the way and lets his shoulders touch the land. During the ritual, the entire village assembles under the tower to dance, sing, and encourage the divers. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: refugeasylum - Comes from Greek asulon, "refuge," from asulos, "inviolable." More... bast - A word for an asylum, refuge, or sanctuary. More... harbor - First meant "shelter" and "lodging," and that is how the word first entered English place-names, as a "place of shelter; refuge" for a crowd of people. A port is a haven for vessels and it is equipped for loading and unloading ships, while a harbor is a haven for vessels but does not necessarily have onshore facilities. More... redoubt - Has no connection to "doubt," but comes from French redoute and Latin reductus, "hidden place, refuge, stronghold." More... | |