The first day of competition at the Scripps National Spelling Bee started with bees and ended with apes.
In between, there was a menagerie – including a number of fictional creatures that spellers tackled on their way to the next round.
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals will begin with 88 spellers, out of 234 who qualified for the competition.
One of the first words was "apiculture," which means "beekeeping, especially when pursued on a large scale." Sahasrad Sathish, speller 1, spelled it correctly in his third round – this year, spellers spelled one word, answered one vocabulary question and then spelled a second word in order to move on in the competition. Apiculture was Sahasrad’s round three word. (Apiary also made an appearance, in a vocabulary question. It’s a place where bees are kept.)
The day ended with "apery," "the action, practice, or art of mimicking." Annie-Lois Acheampong, speller 56, misspelled it to end the day – she ran off the stage earlier, needing to use the bathroom, and was slotted back in at the end.
Among the mythical creatures: "chupacabra," which was the subject of a vocabulary question; "kobold," a domestic spirit often held in Germanic folklore to be mischievous; "gyascutus," an imaginary large four-legged beast with legs on one side longer than on the other for walking on hillsides; and "Aglaia," one of the three sister goddesses (known as the three Graces) who are the givers of charm and beauty in Greek mythology.
"Teratism" – "love of the marvelous or worship of monsters" – also made an appearance.
There were also a number of words that spellers were told to "listen carefully" so they would not be confused with other similar-sounding words. One was "deemster," which is one of the two justices of the common-law courts of the Isle of Man and which could have been confused with "teamster." "Apiculture" could have been confused with "aviculture."
And the spellers showed their personalities on stage. Vikrant Chintanaboina, speller 12, asked Dr. Bailly for the spelling of "suffrutescent," "having a base that is somewhat woody and does not die down each year — used of a plant or stem."
"If I gave it to you, it would mean you misspelled, so you should give it to me," Dr. Bailly quipped.
Vikrant did, and spelled it correctly to continue in the competition.
Other spellers, like Parker Pacifico, speller 139, exhaled deeply or laughed away their nerves. Speller 160, Chris Dominick, said he was "as ready as I’ll ever be" before he spelled "hoi polloi" correctly, pausing for a long while in the middle. "Woo!" he shouted, arms in the air, when he got it right.
His round three word was "vecturist," "a collector of transportation tokens." The word, Parker said, was "very niche."
But he spelled it correctly, gave finger guns to the audience and will spell again another day.