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Spelling Bees
March 20, 2012 - 12:50pm
Take the Oxford English Dictionary challenge
I got 14/15. I misspelled "lascivious." Proudly, I got "burrito," "fajita," and "onomatopoeia" correct.
Also, does anyone remember the documentary Spellbound from 2002? That was a great movie.
My sister-in-law is in that movie! That was her first year. She eventually finished 3rd in the country in a subsequent National Spelling Bee. Indeed, my wife's family has been called "America's Best Spelling Family". It's a source of pride. And a mark of geekiness.
Are you serious!? So easy! L-A-S-C-I-V-I-O-U-S.
Umm, B-U-R-E-... oh never mind. I use spellcheck anyways.
Hey, that's kewl Mr Tea
Ok, I just got 15/15 on "difficult" - but I imagine Catchfire went straight to "fiendish"? I'll try that next. Faîtes vos jeux.
Yeah, it was quite their thing growing up. At my in-laws house, there are piles of news clippings from such places as People Magazine, The New York Times, etc. Even a video of my sister-in-law on the David Letterman show. My wife finished as high as 5th in the country but all 4 siblings have placed in the top 20. Not sure if our kids will participate or not. Requires an INCREDIBLE amount of work.
Heh. Both fajita and burrito are dishes from international cusines, Unionist. I should be more modest. I know not everyone has had my opportunities of travel.
Mr. Tea, that's amazing. I can't imagine the work it takes to be a contestant at the nationals, let alone a top ten finisher. I found Spellbound f-a-s-c-i-n-a-t-i-n-g. Both for the amazing kids it profiled and just the weird Americana which elevates the spelling bee to some allegory of personal success.
LOL!
Ok, on "Fiendish", I scored 14/15 - I screwed up "paparazzo". But I aced meringue, broccoli, and even piccalilli, and yes, aficionado, thus exhibiting an even broader gastronomical range than you.
ETA: Congrats Mr.Tea!
And on a personal note, I found my good scores very gratifying. I've been going through a bad spell lately.
What the aitch-ee-double hockey sticks is "piccalili"?
ETA: Ewww.
30/30 on first two levels. Do I dare try the hardest one?
ETA: They switch the words up: 11/15.
It's really this fascinating little sub-culture I had never thought about before I met my now-wife. And people take it VERY seriously. My wife told me of this spelling bee participant, whose family was from India and whose grandfather (a Hindu, I believe) had a group of hundreds of people praying around the clock for his son. You've got people who train 10 hours a day. It's odd. I guess to be truly great at anything requires such a high level of dedication. But the spelling bee subculture is unique in that doesn't really lead anywhere tangible. The guy who dedicates himself to basketball may one day make the NBA. The guy who dedicates himself to violin may one day be in the philharmonic orchestra. But with spelling, it's this thing that dominates your life for a few years and then just disappears when you reach high school.
Oy.
I was allowed one phone call and one appeal to the audience.
The greatest difficulty I had, given that I have some hearing loss, was with the pronunciation.
So what did Catchfire say when you called hin Unionist?
haha @Catchfire they've got you figured!
Did you use U.S. or British? I tried both and found the British much more comprehensible. I think some of the loose pronunciations were quite deliberate, though.
LOL!
He said: "Call me any time, but don't call me Unionist!"
I felt sorry for this kid who had to spell "[nee-gus]."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFCSvqsqFA
I think I'll pass -- I've had enough soul-crushing humiliation for one day.
I used to be an excellent spellar. Must have bin all the acid I droped in high school.
haha, super like (*clicks invisible like button*)
also spellar (!)
Ditto! lol
Spellbound was a really good documentary - I enjoyed it too! I had no idea about the whole spelling bee subculture until I saw it. The way the kids train for those things is unbelievable!
Catchfire, damn you for posting that online spelling bee from Oxford Dictionary. Do you know what I've been spending the last half hour doing?
I finally got 15/15 on the "fiendish" level!
Priceless.
*groan*
I am the Fiend! 15/15
"It's irrefutable: you're one of the linguistic cognoscenti! Play again?"
Nooooo, that's enough. Thanks, Catchfire, a most entertaining (and mildly frustrating) half hour playing on words.
Flagged as offensive.
I used the British pronunciation Unionist.
Another good film about spelling bees is "Akeelah and the Bee" from 2006. It's a drama, not a documentary, but very well done and in this case the underdog black kid from the 'hood takes on the rich dudes. I missed it at the theatres, but picked up the DVD at the library. Well worth watching.
See the trailer and other info here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437800/
Must find Spellbound somewhere.....