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The Bee Blog

At the end of the round

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 11:32

Maya Jadhav, speller 484, is a fifth grader who made the finals for the second time Maya, who is from Wisconsin, tied for 42nd place last year. This year, she misspelled "praseodymium," a yellowish...

Friendship at the Bee

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 11:18

Phoebe Smith, speller 375, hugged her friend Melodie Loya, speller 274, when both found out they were finalists. Phoebe, a Pennsylvania eighth grader and Melodie, who lives in New York, have become go...

Two down

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 11:10

Brendan Pawlicki, speller 310, is out. He misspelled "nuchal," of, relating to or lying in the region of the back part of the neck. The Michigan seventh grader was a top speller for three y...

Thank YOU

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 11:05

"Ichthyophagi," Dr. Bailly said to Colette Giezentanner, speller 304. "Thank you," the Missouri sixth grader replied. She correctly spelled the word, which means a people (as in...

Another one down

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:54

Jack Lado, speller 285, is out. The Michigan eighth grader misspelled "doraphobia," a dread of touching the skin or fur of an animal. Jack tied for 42nd place last year. ...

Idaho is out

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:46

Joseph Moran, speller 199, is out. The Idaho seventh grader misspelled "cyclamen," a plant or flower of a genus of widely cultivated Eurasian plants having centrally depressed rounded t...

Atman is out

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:41

This is the second time speller 175, Atman Balakrishnan, has been to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. But the Illinois seventh grader has a spelling legacy. His father, Balu Natarajan,...

The first bell

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:32

Anson Cook, speller 158, is the first to misspell. The Maryland eighth grader misspelled "ergodic," of or relating to a process in which every sequence or sizable sample is the same sta...

Formerly first

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:11

Erin Howard, speller 93 and an Alabama eighth grader, used to be the first speller at the Bee. Now, the numbers are more randomized, but spellers used to go by state. Last year, Erin fi...

More than fine

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 10:05

"Eh, I'm fine," said Lauren Guo, speller 52 and a Colorado eighth grader. She's more than fine now. eShe correctly spelled "trunnion," a pin or pivot usually mounted on beari...

And we're off

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 09:38

"I don't know what I expected," Rishik Gandhasri, speller 5 said, when he learned his word -- "Yiddishkeit" -- came from Yiddish. The California seventh grader, who tied for 25th last y...

Choose the Bee mascots' names!

Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 09:17

Good morning, everyone! Spelling starts at 10 a.m. today, but before it begins, we want to tell you a little bit about our new mascots -- King Bee and Queen Bee. They don't have real names...

In a surprise, Naysa Modi isn't a finalist

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 18:21

There's one name you may have expected to see on the list of finalists who you won't: Naysa Modi, speller 490. The Texas eighth grader was the runner-up in last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, b...

Going to the Finals

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 16:42

For a full list of spellers going to the finals -- which begin Thursday morning -- click here. We're excited to have 50 talented spellers joining us Thursday. ...

Next, the finalists

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 16:38

Deetya Vuppala, speller 567 and a cousin of 2016 champion Nihar Janga, was the last speller of the day. The Washington fifth grader misspelled "somesthetic," of, relating to, or concerned with...

Sister, sister

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 16:23

Hephzibah Sujoe, speller 562, is the sister of Ansun Sujoe, the 2014 co-champion. Hephzibah, a Texas seventh grader, spelled "commentariat" correctly. It's a group of powerful and influential...

Oh dear

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 16:11

"I really hope I can get this word right," said Evan Hunter, speller 550 and a Virginia eighth grader. Dr. Bailly concurred. But it was not to be. "Oh dear," Evan said when he hea...

A laugh and a wave

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 16:01

Brylie Koopman, speller 532, laughed and waved as she said, "Bye bye" to the crowd. The Texas eighth grader greeted Dr. Bailly with a "Howdy" but misspelled "incontrovertible," not open to questi...

A good birthday

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 15:51

"Thanks so much for being so nice and giving me a good word on my birthday. You made my birthday, Dr. Bailly," said Akash Vukoti, speller 527, who is now 10. The Texas fourth grader spelled "q...

Cooking substitutes

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 15:44

"Ted didn’t have time to go to the store again, so he substituted a white onion for a shallot in the recipe," Dr. Bailly read. "Been there." Nikil Shyamsunder, speller 514, may not have cooked wi...