The Bee Blog

Nilla and Eva are out

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 12:12

Nilla Rajan, Speller 327 and an Ohio seventh grader, is out on "popliteal" -- it means of or relating to the back part of the leg behind the knee joint. She left the stage to cheers. Nilla ...

Octo....push?

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 12:06

In the ballroom (and maybe on TV?) we just watched an ESPN promo where people on the streets of Washington, D.C. talked about their own spelling bee misses. One person interviewed said he misspelle...

Cool as a cucumber

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:51

Sophia Nguyen, Speller 219 and a Missouri seventh grader, correctly spelled "synecphonesis," which is contraction of two syllables into one. Sophia wasn't confident that she would make the finals. ...

Bee-dazzled

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:37

Simone Kaplan, Speller 60, is a Florida sixth grader. And our fashion icon. Simone tied for 189th place last year and that set her into a bee frenzy. Now, she spelled "Locarno" corre...

Jake is gone

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:32

Jacob Faulk, Speller 11 and a Colorado eighth grader, is out. He misspelled "lochan," a body of water usually smaller than a lake and larger than a pool. ...

How am I?

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:29

How is Anson Cook, Speller 517 and a Virginia seventh grader? "Well, you can give me a word and I'll tell you," he told Dr. Bailly. The word was "exegete," one who practices critical interp...

Percy Jackson, when I'm not spelling

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:14

Abhijay Kodali, Speller 484 and a Texas fifth grader, spelled "dealated," which means divested of the wings — used of postnuptial adults of certain insects (as ants and termites) that drop their win...

More cheese

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:12

Snehal Choudhury, Speller 361, raised her hands into the air in shock. The Ohio eighth grader had spelled "cantal" correctly. Going with our theme, it's a hard Cheddar-type cheese made in the ...

Christopher is out

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 11:03

Christopher Serrao, Speller 348 and a New Jersey sixth grader, is out. He misspelled "grunion," a small silver-striped fish of the California coast notable for the regularity with which it com...

Another bell ring

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:55

Noah Brandt, Speller 316 and a Tennessee eighth grader, is out. He misspelled "sidereal," which means of or relating to stars or constellations. Last year, Noah tied for 41st place. ...

Two more gone

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:47

Alice Liu, Speller 242 and a Missouri sixth grader, just left the stage. She misspelled "ebbet," the common green newt of the eastern United States. Last year, Alice tied for 12th place. Th...

Brendan is out

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:38

Brendan Pawlicki, Speller 209, and a Michigan sixth grader, is out on the word "volplane." It means sail or coast through the air in the manner of an airplane that glides. Brendan started changi...

One more has left the stage

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:28

Samhita Kumar, Speller 94, is out on the word "indite." The California seventh grader spelled a homonym, "indict." "Indite" means to make up or compose (as a poem or story). Samhita ...

Exhale

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:18

Rishik Gandhasri, Speller 70, caused us all to hold our breaths. The California sixth grader's word was "corbel," an architectural element which projects from within a wall and supports a supe...

Cheeeeeese

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:14

We've had a cheese theme this week with spellers being asked to spell words like "feta," "chevre" and "Roquefort" this week. Lauren Guo, Speller 44 and a Colorado seventh grader, didn't get a cheese w...

The first bell of the day

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 10:09

Siddharth Doppalapudi, Speller 37 and an Alabama seventh grader, is out. His word was "amyloid," a waxy translucent substance related to protein and deposited in some animal organs under abnor...

We use words correctly

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 09:55

Enya Hubers, speller 15, got a good word for a spelling bee: "catachresis," which means the misuse of words. The seventh grader, who lives in Ontario and is the only Canadian representative at the ...

Spelling starts at 10 a.m.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 20:50

Are you excited? We're excited. The finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee start this morning. We have 41 amazing spellers who will duke it out shortly. The divide: 25 spellers came through tr...

The Bee crowd hears from an astronaut

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 17:38

After spelling ended for the day, the spellers heard from Leland Melvin, a former football player and retired astronaut. Melvin told spellers that he grew up learning to be an engineer without even...

The finalists are...

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 17:21

There are 41 spellers advancing to the finals. In no particular order, they are: Jacob Faulk, Speller 11 Cameron Keith, Speller 24 Medina Miranda, Speller 48 Rishik Gandhasri, Speller 7...