Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“). The day first became […]
Continue ReadingHusband Of Missing Utah Woman Kills Self And Two Young Sons
On this day in 2012, 36-year-old Josh Powell, who had been in the public eye since police labeled him a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his 28-year-old wife, Susan, locks out a social worker then kills himself and his two sons, ages 5 and 7, by setting fire to his Graham, Washington, […]
Continue ReadingLantern Festival
The Lantern Festival (also known as the Yuanxiao Festival or Shangyuan Festival in China; Chap Goh Meh Festival in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; Yuen Siu Festival in Hong Kong, and “Tết Thượng Nguyên” or “Tết Nguyên Tiêu” in Vietnam); is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year […]
Continue ReadingDamn
damn – [dam] verb (used with object): 1. to declare (something) to be bad, unfit, invalid, or illegal. 2. to condemn as a failure: to damn a play. 3. to bring condemnation upon; ruin. 4. to doom to eternal punishment or condemn to hell. 5. to swear at or curse, using the word “damn”: Damn […]
Continue ReadingAmerican or British
Variations in spelling exist in English words. In Great Britain and Canada, some words have spellings that differ from American spellings. Readers of books by British and Canadian publishers will note these differences. Some confusion may arise depending on the writer’s experience with these variant spellings. Many nouns that in American English end in –or, […]
Continue ReadingContractions
A contraction is a word made from a verb and another word. An apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. A contraction can be made by joining a verb and the word not, a word and the verb is, and a pronoun and a verb. Here are some common contractions that […]
Continue ReadingFrostbite
Frostbite (congelatio in medical terminology) is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas. The initial stages of frostbite are sometimes called “frost nip”. Classification There are […]
Continue ReadingActual
ac·tu·al – [ak-choo-uhl] adjective 1. existing in act or fact; real: an actual case of heroism; actual expenses. 2. existing now; present; current: The ship’s actual position is 22 miles due east of Miami. 3. Obsolete . pertaining to or involving acts or action. Origin: 1275–1325; < Late Latin āctuālis, equivalent to Latin āctu- (stem […]
Continue ReadingExperience
ex·pe·ri·ence – [ik-speer-ee-uhns] noun, verb, -enced, -enc·ing. noun 1. a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience. 2. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: business experience. 3. the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they […]
Continue ReadingFact
fact – [fakt] noun 1. something that actually exists; reality; truth: Your fears have no basis in fact. 2. something known to exist or to have happened: Space travel is now a fact. 3. a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true: Scientists gather facts about plant growth. 4. something […]
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