The Bee Blog

Do some weeding

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 13:18

Catherine Myers, speller 385, misspelled "sedge." It's a solid-stemmed perennial grasslike herb of a widely distributed genus having its small one-seeded fruit enclosed in a sac near the floral l...

Obsolete

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 13:04

Jacob Mijalli, speller 372 and a South Carolina seventh grader, misspelled "obsolescence," the process of becoming no longer active or in use. Jacob's parents may have appreciated this sentence, th...

Always boo

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 12:58

Benjamin Zobian, speller 359, was unfailingly polite as he misspelled "mores." The word means the fixed customs or folkways of a particular group which are deemed morally binding u...

What a great word

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 12:54

One of the most fun things about the Scripps National Spelling Bee is all the awesome vocabulary words. Jeremy Slywczak, speller 351, got a good one: "verbicide." It means a deliberate distort...

Back, and

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:48

We have our first misspellings of this group: Alyssa Evans, speller 344, a Pennsylvania seventh grader misspelled "atrophy," to undergo a wasting away or progressive decline. ...

Just for mom

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:41

Nathaniel Wintraub, speller 339, listens to his mother. "My mom wants me to ask you for all the information," the New York eighth grader told Dr. Bailly. "Good for mom," he replied. ...

What is a sandwich, anyway?

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:29

Neha Kodali, speller 330, may have inadvertently entered into a debate for the ages: what defines a sandwich. Dr. Bailly read the following sentence for her word, "cogency." The cogency of Allis...

Hey, Jane the Virgin fans

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:18

Someone at the Scripps National Spelling Bee is watching Jane the Virgin. Here's the sentence for "telenovela," a soap opera produced in Latin America and televised in or from many Latin-Ameri...

Who says the Bee isn't hip?

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:10

Caroline Kovacs, speller 301, is out on the word "stolid." Because he never wants it to leave our heads, Dr. Bailly gave the New Jersey fifth grader the following sentence: Father may seem like a s...

Dr. Bailly has their mood in his hands

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 11:05

How is Albin Mullan, speller 297, today? "I don't know, I'm about to find out," the New Jersey eighth grader said. Based on his spelling of "pummel," we think he's doing all right. Albin got the...

We are excited about these words

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:52

You can't blame Dario Javier, speller 272, for giggling at his word: "wafflestomper." The Nevada sixth grader cracked up when he heard it. A wafflestomper is a hiking boot with a thick rubber sole ...

Warmth

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:36

"Hi, Dr. Bailly," Tai Nakamura, speller 270 said. "Hi everybody. Again." The New Jersey seventh grader in his second Bee also greeted us the last time he was on stage. He spelle...

Everything but

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:32

"Can I have all the information except the sentence?" asked Yolanda Ni, speller 257. The Mississippi eighth grader -- in her second Bee -- got all that she needed to spell "deplete" correctly. I...

Petrified

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:23

"I'm absolutely and completely petrified," Tian Hu, speller 251, admitted as she made her way to the microphone. There was no need to be. The New Jersey fifth grader spelled "assignment" with ease....

No need to be scared

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:18

"How are you?" Dr. Bailly asked Tanishka Jadhav, speller 236. "Great. Scared," the Michigan sixth grader said. But she didn't need to be. Tanishka spelled "catamount" correctly. It's any of...

Obviously

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:59

"Thank you mom," speller 232, Brayden Armes said. He misspelled "panache" and is out of the Bee. Armes is a Missouri eighth grader in his third Bee. We hope the sentence speller 231,...

Check-in time

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:52

We're taking a quick break to get the next group of spellers up on stage. In the meantime, here are your stats: So far, 156 spellers have spelled their words correctly, and 55 are out. We'll hav...

Any Alabama fans out there?

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:41

Grant Flora, speller 215, is from Indiana, so this probably wasn't as funny -- or offensive -- to him as it was to some of our spellers who took the stage yesterday. For "mauvette,"&nbs...

I took 10

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:30

"I'm good, but also really nervous," Yena Park, speller 205, admitted to Dr. Bailly. "Well, take a deep breath," Dr. Bailly told the Indiana fourth grader. "I did. I took 10," she said. ...

Write on your arm

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:06

Cal Alexander, speller 194 and a Louisiana eighth grader, spelled "expurgate" -- or at least some of it -- by writing on his arm. Cal, who is here for the third time, scribbled on his arm with his ...