The finalists come next

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 17:20

Bee Week

We started the day with 452 spellers and after hour (and hours) of on-stage spelling, we're down to 321. Now, we're narrowing it down to no more than 50, based on the scores from the written tests sp...

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A set of twins make it through this round

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 17:06

Bee Week

Garrett Bryner, Speller 510 and a Utah eighth grader, spelled "aforementioned" correctly. He was here last year, and tied for 41st place. (His brother, James, competed in 2015 and 2016.) Pierce, Gar...

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Dr. Bailly is getting hip

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:58

Bee Week

In case you missed it this morning, Dr. Bailly talked about his gnarly ollie -- a skateboarding term -- that had the crowd chuckling. Dare we say he's cool? Judge for yourself: Vihaan Sibal (S...

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I'll be here all week

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:55

Bee Week

Daniel Fordham, Speller 496, a Virginia eighth grader, was pleased with the sentence he got for his word, "luncheon:" "The Dinner Haters' Club and Breakfast Skippers' Association weren't sure how t...

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Out, out

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:46

Bee Week

Srivarun Hathwar, Speller 494 and a Virginia sixth grader, is out. Srivarun said he was inspired to spell after two of his cousins -- brothers Sriram and Jairam Hathwar -- won the Scripps National ...

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She has a cheering section

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:42

Bee Week

Charity-Dakota Jordan, Speller 483, made a heart with her hands as the audience cheered. The Washington eighth grader spelled "savant" correctly -- it's a person of learning; especially : one wit...

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High fiving

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:25

Bee Week

Like many spellers, Speller 481, Matthew Noel, high fived a whole row of spellers on his way off stage. Matthew, a Texas fifth grader, misspelled "insurrection," an act or instance of rev...

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Who doesn't like The Price is Right?

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 16:02

Bee Week

Latrice, apparently: "Latrice plays sudoku to bond with her Nana when she can’t bear to watch even one more episode of The Price is Right." Jeff Zheng, Speller 465, must like the a logic ...

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Here we go

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 15:56

Bee Week

"Here we go again," said Cassie Rust, Speller 438. The Utah eighth grader's word was "repertory." "Is there are funny sentence?" she asked. There was not, and Cassie -- who was last here in 2...

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Back again

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 15:52

Bee Week

Martius Bautista, Speller 431 and a Wisconsin eighth grader, is in his fourth Bee. In 2015, he tied for 50th place; in 2016, 46th place; and in 2017 41st place. He spelled "microseism" correct...

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Yanny? Laurel?

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 15:44

Bee Week

"We meet again," said Speller 424, Spencer Phillips, as he came to the microphone. "Yes," Dr. Bailly replied. "We'll have to keep doing this." "Hopefully," Spencer countered. ...

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Last minute

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 15:26

Bee Week

Jack Miller, Speller 418, waited until time was nearly up to spell "anatomical," of or relating to the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals. The Texas eighth grader go...

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We need to know more

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 15:12

Bee Week

When spellers want to know if they know the parts of that make up a word, they have to know a few things -- the root they're asking, what it means and the language of origin. Speller 406, Cameron G...

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Chez Bee

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:58

Bee Week

"Hello, Dr. Sietsema. I'll take an obscure word for $200," said Speller 391, Jason Sorin. Maybe not that obscure -- his word was "chez" -- at or in the home or business place of. Jason, a s...

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Youngest speller

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:49

Bee Week

Speller 383, Sivasaipraneethreddy Devireddy, is the youngest in the Bee. His word this afternoon was "wherein," meaning in which. Praneeth is a North Carolina third grader. He misspelled and is out...

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Wait -- those are words?

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:35

Bee Week

So far today, among the various kinds of cheese, medical terms and words of unknown origin, there have been a few surprises: words like affluenza, vlogging and athleisure. Where do they come from? ...

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Alternate fairy tales

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:30

Bee Week

Dr. Sietsema is on a roll with the funny sentences. Eva Vega, Speller 350 and a North Carolina eighth grader (who tied for 22nd place in 2016) got this sentence for "porridge." "Goldilocks burne...

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No squirrels here

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:25

Bee Week

Luckily, the hotel the spellers are staying in is nicer than the one in this sentence: "Esther concluded her hotel review by saying, "Due to the aforementioned family of squirrels in the shower, I ...

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They're excited

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 14:14

Bee Week

A bow PLUS a dab from Speller 337, Ranitha Kumarasinghe, after he spelled "aspirator" correctly. It's an apparatus for moving gases, liquids or granular substances by suction. And ...

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Repeat that

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 13:00

Bee Week

"Say that again?" Abby Zheng, Speller 325, asked Dr. Sietsema, the pronouncer. "Multiloquious," he replied. The South Carolina eighth grader misspelled the word, which means garrulous, talk...

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