Janelle Newell, Speller 85, asked Dr. Bailly to again say her word, "celtuce."
By then, though, the stage lights were red. The rules say that during that period, the pronouncer can't interact with the speller.
"You need to spell," Dr. Bailly told her.
Janelle, a Connecticut sixth grader, misspelled the word, which means a celerylike vegetable that is derived from lettuce and has edible stalks and leaves that combine the flavors of celery and lettuce.
