Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bedlam
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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What vs. WhichThe interrogative adjectives "what" and "which" are often interchangeable. In most instances, we can use either one without causing confusion for the reader. However, if there is clearly a limited number of options to choose from, which interrogative adjective is preferred? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 XenophonXenophon was a Greek soldier and writer. Born to a wealthy Athenian family, he was a disciple of Socrates before joining the Greek force, known as the Ten Thousand, that served Persian prince Cyrus the Younger at the disastrous battle of Cunaxa. After Cyrus and the Greek generals were killed, Xenophon was chosen as one of the leaders of the army's heroic retreat, an experience he recounted in Anabasis, his most celebrated work. Why was Xenophon later exiled from Athens? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Harvard College Is Founded (1636)Founded with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard College was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard. He bequeathed his books and about £780 to the fledgling college. The oldest and one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the US, Harvard originally trained Puritan ministers. Today, it has the largest university endowment in the US, estimated at more than $25 billion in 2009. Why did Harvard athletes first adopt the color red? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Evelyn Waugh (1903)Waugh was an English novelist who is widely considered the greatest satirist of his generation. His novels, characterized by sardonic wit, technical brilliance, and his devoted Catholicism, include A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. Waugh also wrote amusing travel books. After service in World War II, he led a retired life, and his writing grew increasingly misanthropic. In 1925, Waugh's suicide attempt was thwarted when he was coincidentally attacked by what animal? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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stuffed to the gills— Completely full; teeming; having no room to spare. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ochi Day (2025)Ochi Day is a national holiday in Greece, commemorating the day during World War II when Greeks said "ochi" ("no") to an attempted incursion ordered by Italy's fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. On October 28, 1940, the Italian ambassador to Greece called on General Ioannis Metaxas, the prime minister, to demand that Italian troops be allowed to occupy areas in Greece. Metaxas curtly responded, "Ochi." The Italians invaded, but were routed by the Greeks. Ochi Day is observed in Greece with military and school parades; it is also a public holiday celebrated in Cyprus with parades. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: worrycark - The noun means "solicitude or sympathetic feeling"; the verb means to fret anxiously or to cause distress or worry. More... distrait, distraught - Distrait means "absent-minded as a result of apprehension, worry, etc."—while distraught means "agitated" and "bewildered, distracted." More... ish kabbible - Meaning "I should worry," it is of unknown origin, but is perhaps derived from Yiddish nisht gefidlt, popularized (and perhaps coined) by comedienne Fanny Brice. More... kedogenous - "Brought about by worry or anxiety." More... | |