Definition: (adjective) Having or marked by imposing physical strength.
Synonyms: hardy, sturdy, stout.
Usage: Athos sprang into the boat, which was immediately pushed off and which soon sped seawards under the efforts of four stalwart rowers.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The solar eclipse that will cross the continental U.S. this Aug. 21 will attract a huge audience — and rightly so. The millions of people who are expected to witness the astronomical event won’t show up just because solar eclipses are exceedingly … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average, often referred to as the Dow, is the best-known and most widely followed market indicator in the world. Tracking the performance of 30 blue-chip US stocks—which sometimes change—the Dow is thought to reflect the overall condition of the US economy. In 1932, the Dow reached its lowest point of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22—down almost 90 percent since 1929. It did not return to pre-1929 levels until 1954. Who is the Dow named after? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Soon after founding the first union in 1869, a group of mine workers in northern England initiated a campaign to lobby their pit bosses, who met regularly in the city of Durham. What began as a formal protest became a grand party, and by 1871, the first official Durham Miners’ Gala was held. Today, the gala has become more of a heritage celebration of coal mining. The event usually features about 30 community brass bands, which march through the streets. The procession ends at Durham University, where attendees gather to hear speeches from trade union leaders and politicians. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After two years of high school, Rockefeller—the man destined to become, by some estimates, the richest person in history—got a job as a bookkeeper. A few years later, he formed a food handling firm that prospered in the American Civil War. In 1863, he entered the brand new oil business, and within 15 years, his company dominated the American petroleum industry. A noted philanthropist, he donated $550 million during his lifetime. It has been said that Rockefeller had what two ambitions in life? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
An ancient torture device, the rack was used to stretch its victims’ joints to the breaking point. A prisoner’s hands and feet would be fastened to rollers located at either end of the device’s rectangular frame, and during interrogations, a ratchet would gradually increase the tension on the chains. The excruciating torture inspired such terrible fear that some prisoners would confess after merely watching someone else being stretched on the rack. Who were some of the device’s famous victims? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Tending to talk excessively.
Synonyms: chatty, garrulous, loquacious, talkative, talky.
Usage: Mary's gabby friends kept her apprised of all the neighborhood gossip.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Like “Jurassic Park,” what if you could use the science of DNA to resurrect long-extinct creatures that once roamed the earth? Efforts to do that are actually underway. Led by Dr. George Church – “the Einstein of our times,” according to author Ben … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1982, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old American girl, wrote a letter to the newly elected leader of the USSR, Yuri Andropov, asking if he intended to start a war. Andropov replied personally. Expressing a desire for lasting peace with the US, he invited Smith to visit. The following July, she and her parents spent two weeks in the USSR amidst a media frenzy that hailed her as a goodwill ambassador. After her death in a plane crash two years later, she was honored by both nations in what ways? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Juno was the ancient Roman goddess of women and marriage, identified with the Greek goddess Hera. As the highest deity in the Roman pantheon next to Jupiter, her brother and husband, she ruled all aspects of women’s lives, including sexuality and childbirth, and served as a kind of guardian angel for women. The two most important festivals in honor of Juno were the Juno Caprotina (or Nonae Caprotinae) and the Matronalia. The former was held under a wild fig tree in the Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, a floodplain of the Tiber River. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary