Word of the Day, August 8, 2023

August 8, 2023 [The Free Dictionary]( Word of the Day [unctuous]( [Discuss]( Definition: (adjective) Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness. Synonyms: [oleaginous]( [buttery]( [fulsome]( [smarmy]( [oily]( Usage: In David Copperfield, the unctuous Uriah Heep is notable for his cloying humility and general insincerity. Missing Idiom Contest The Free Dictionary has the largest collection of English idioms in the world. But we are always looking for more to add, and we want your help! Every so often we hear from users who have looked up an idiom on The Free Dictionary that it was not found in the database. Maybe it was some expression they heard at work, or some phrase they grew up hearing their grandmother say. If you know an idiom that isn't already defined on The Free Dictionary, [send it to us]( and you might win $150 USD. Complete English Grammar Rules [Complete English Grammar Rules] An Amazon Best Seller! Finally, all the rules of English grammar, all in one book, explained in simple terms. ✔ 500+ pages of proper grammar instruction—2X more information than the leading grammar book! ✔ Hundreds of quizzes and thousands of example sentences. [Buy now]( Idiom of the Day [halfway decent]( — Somewhat good, useful, or enjoyable, but not very; passable. ["More...]( [Idiom video]( Article of the Day Ulan Bator [Discuss]( Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaator, is the capital of the Republic of Mongolia. Founded in 1649 as a monastery town, today it is the junction point of the country's major roads and caravan routes; it lies on the Trans-Siberian RR, linking Russia with Beijing. The city is home to a library of ancient Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan manuscripts. The 1904 British expedition to Tibet prompted the Dalai Lama to leave Lhasa for Ulan Bator, where he remained for 4 years. In whose honor was Ulaanbaator named? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Adjectives after the Noun [Discuss]( While attributive adjectives are generally found before the noun they modify, especially in simple sentences, there are also many cases in which they are placed immediately after the noun. What are these adjectives called? [More...]( This Day in History Collapse of Warsaw Radio Mast (1991) [Discuss]( Upon its completion in 1974, the Warsaw radio mast in Poland became the world's tallest structure. Standing 2,120 feet (646 m) tall, the tower was used for long-wave radio broadcasting. In 1991, the mast underwent repairs to exchange guy wires, the cables used to stabilize the tower. However, the mast bent and then snapped at approximately half its height. It was never rebuilt. What became the world's tallest structure upon the Warsaw radio mast's collapse? [More...]( Today's Birthday Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896) [Discuss]( Rawlings was an American author best known for her 1938 novel The Yearling, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize. Rawlings worked as a journalist until 1928, when she moved to the rural Florida backwoods and devoted herself to fiction. There, she incorporated the people and land around her into richly atmospheric works that resemble vivid factual reporting and are noted for their magical descriptions of landscape. The Yearling is about a boy who adopts what animal as a pet? [More...]( Today's Holiday Eisteddfod [Discuss]( The [Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales]( dates back to the 12th century. Its purpose is to encourage the preservation of [Welsh music]( and literature, and only those who sing or write in [Welsh]( may enter. The annual event opens with the blowing of trumpets, followed by all kinds of musical and literary contests—harp playing, solo and choral singing, dramatic presentations, and poetic composition. The National Eisteddfod is held in northern Wales one year and southern Wales the next. Other Eisteddfodau are held in Welsh communities elsewhere from May to November. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( Whoever increases his knowledge multiplies the uses to which he is enabled to turn the gift of his Creator to his own benefit and partakes in some degree of that goodness which is the highest attribute of Omnipotence itself. 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