The spellers really want to laugh this morning.
"Is the sentence funny?" asked Lokesh Nagineni (Speller 235) upon hearing the word "voortrekker."
"No, it's 'Andries Pretorius was a voortrekker for whom one of the three capital cities of South Africa is named,'" Dr. Bailly replied.
"At least it's interesting," Lokesh said.
Shobha Dasari (Speller 238) wanted humor as well.
"Since it's part of your contract, can you use the word in a sentence?" she asked.
"Gillian is blasé about amusement parks because she lives just one mile from Disneyland," Dr. Bailly said.
Shobha spelled "blasé" correctly to continue on. Last year, the Pearland, Texas seventh grader tied for 19th place.