Today's Highlights
| Word of the Day | |||||||
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highfalutin
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositional PhrasesA prepositional phrase is made up of at least a preposition and its object, which can be a noun, pronoun, or a noun phrase. What is an adjectival prepositional phrase? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TaphephobiaTaphephobia is the psychopathological fear of being buried alive. Before the advent of modern medicine, this fear was not entirely irrational. Throughout history, there have been many cases of people being accidentally buried alive, and the horrific prospect has been a favorite subject of urban legends and literature, including several stories by Edgar Allan Poe. During the 18th and 19th centuries, such fears led to a large number of designs for "safety coffins," which employed what safeguards? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Group of Explorers Reaches South Pole (1911)Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had been planning for a trip to the North Pole until he heard that someone had beaten him to it. Instead, he and his team set sail for Antarctica. There, they spent nearly a year preparing for the final two-month trek that made them the first people to reach the South Pole. With good equipment and plenty of sled dogs, the team was extremely well prepared compared to other polar expeditions of the day, some of which ended badly. How was their clothing better? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Margaret Chase Smith (1897)Smith served as her husband's secretary following his election as a US representative. After he died in 1940, she was elected to finish his unexpired term, becoming Maine's first congresswoman. Noted for her integrity and independence, she joined the Senate in 1948 and continued to be reelected until 1972. In 1950, she gave her famed "Declaration of Conscience" speech opposing the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The speech earned her what derisive nickname from McCarthy's staff? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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throw (one's) toys out of the pram— To behave in a petulantly upset or angry manner; to act like an angry child. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Christkindlesmarkt (2025)Christkindlesmarkt is the biggest and best known of the Christmas markets of Germany. The market in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, has been held since 1697 in the city's Hauptmarkt ("main market"). More than 100 booths are set up to offer only goods directly related to Christmas, and food booths sell Nuremberg's specialties—Lebkuchen, or gingerbread, and Zwetschgenmannlein, which are little people-shaped confections. The three-week festival is inaugurated with choral singing, the pealing of church bells, and illumination of a creche. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: helmetcrest - From Latin crista, "plume, tuft," it first referred to the erect feathers of a plume on a helmet or headdress. More... panache - Can be a tuft or plume of feathers on a headdress or helmet. More... coif, coiffure, coiffeur - Coif, coiffure, and coiffeur (hairdo, hairstyle) derive from Latin cofia, "helmet." More... galeated - Means "shaped like a helmet" or "wearing a helmet." More... | |
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