Definition: (noun) An assortment or a medley; a conglomeration.
Synonyms: hodgepodge, omnium-gatherum, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, ragbag.
Usage: If the farrago of newspaper clippings, stale coffee mugs, and chewed-on pencils strewn around the office was any indication, her boss had been at the office all night.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The most influential American business-oriented paper and one of the most respected dailies in the world, The Wall Street Journal has been printed continuously since it was founded in 1889 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. In that time, it has won more than 30 Pulitzer Prizes. It has one of the highest daily circulations in the US and a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million. Who acquired the newspaper’s parent company in 2007? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The largest event of its kind in North America, the Winnipeg Folk Festival is a music festival featuring bluegrass, gospel, jazz, Cajun, swing, Celtic, and other performers from Canada and around the world. There are concerts, jam sessions, a juried handicrafts village, children’s performances, and folk dancing. Held at Birds Hill Park, about 19 miles northeast of Winnipeg, the festival was started in 1974 by Mitch Podolak, a veteran in the folk music field. Although it lasts for five days, it also operates on a year-round basis as a folklore and music center. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
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Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-American psychiatrist whose pioneering work in the field of thanatology—the study of death and dying—has had a lasting influence on the medical community. In her groundbreaking book, On Death and Dying, she first discussed what is now known as the Kübler-Ross model, which uses the “five stages of grief” to explain the experience of dying patients: denial, anger, bargaining for time, depression, and acceptance. What other medical movement did Kübler-Ross influence? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Jhumpa Lahiri is a contemporary Indian-American (Bengali) author based in New York City. Her debut, Interpreter of Maladies, addresses sensitive dilemmas in the lives of Indian immigrants, exploring themes involving marital difficulties, miscarriages, and the disconnection between first and second generation immigrants in the US. A film adaptation of her novel, The Namesake, will be released in November 2007. She is a vice president of what important organization? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.
Synonyms: writing system.
Usage: She was familiar with many of the regional dialects, but she did not recognize this orthography.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Standing 726 ft (221 m) high and 1,244 ft (379 m) long, the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River between the US states of Nevada and Arizona is one of the world’s largest dams, impounding Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir. Upon its completion, it was the world’s largest electric power producing facility and the world’s largest concrete structure. In fact, some of the concrete is still curing today, and there is enough concrete in the dam to pave a two-lane highway from New York to where? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Because Zambia is composed of several different tribal groups, the founders of the country promoted the idea of national unity as a means to keep the young nation from falling apart. Zambia Unity Day was created to help foster solidarity between the diverse groups that make up the country. The slogan “One Zambia, One Nation” is used to signify the goal of the holiday. Remembrance speeches on Unity Day stress that people of varying backgrounds and political beliefs had come together to work for Zambian independence. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Reputed to have won 2,000 of the 2,500 games he pitched during his nearly 30-year career, Paige first made a name for himself playing in the Negro baseball leagues. In 1948, shortly after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s race barrier, the 42-year-old Paige entered the major leagues. In his first season, he helped his team earn a World Series victory. In 1971, he became the first Negro leagues star to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Who called Paige the best pitcher he ever faced? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Jet Li is a Chinese martial artist and action star, one of the few actors from China who have achieved fame outside of Asia. When he was 8, Li’s mother sent him to train in wushu, an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. He became an expert and won 15 gold medals in the Chinese championships, earning him fame and leading to a career as an action star. In 2004, Li suffered what injuries when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the Maldives? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary