Saida Bidiwala, speller 497, caught herself saying an "I" when she meant to say "O" in her word, "stereognosis."
She started over and got the "O" right, but she had already said the "I." It means the ability to perceive or the perception of material qualities (as form or weight) of an object by handling or lifting it : tactile recognition.
Saida, a Texas sixth grader, is out. So is Helen Murphy, speller 500, who misspelled "fussbudget." That's one who worries or frets about trifles.
And speller 503, Pranav Elavarthi, misspelled "placoderm," a fish or fossil of a class of extinct fishes with an armor of large bony plates and primitive jaw structures.
So far, 40 spellers have spelled incorrectly and have been eliminated.