With the Scripps National Spelling Bee underway in Washington, D.C., the local paper has posted a five-word challenge hosted by 2006 champ Kerry Close. You can click on buttons to hear definition, language of origin, tips from current contestants, and guesses ventured by passers-by in the USA’s capital city.
I got five out of five on the first try. And somewhere in my childhood home is the pen I received from the now-defunct Cleveland Press for winning my school’s bee as a fifth-grader.
5/5 correct on my first try, although I had to get her to define the second one before it stopped sounding like an element. 
And Cheatham County was too damned cheap to give out awards for spelling bee champs, even in the seventh grade. Bastards!
5 by 5, B.
Those words are all pretty easy, but three of them are very “foreign” borrowings. If you know Spanish and French, it’s not really a challenge.
I admire good spellers, but I think spelling bees are pointless, though they are slightly entertaining. Spelling a word is not nearly as important as using it in a meaningful and effective way (especially if it’s a word you’d otherwise never utter or write). That’s what editors are for. Proof-reading, on the other hand, is fairly mechanical.
And then there are always dictionaries.
Dang, I was off by a letter on the 5th word.
5 out of 5, but surely the fourth word ought to have a diacritical mark in it (which I didn’t include).
Got 'em all. Only because I was typing, though. I’m a visual speller and can tell if what I’ve written doesn’t look right. If you ask me to spell it aloud, spelling-bee style, I don’t stand a chance. You’ll see me air-writing the word in desperation.
I participated in my school spelling bee once. I was given “journalism.” I know exactly how it’s written and could even picture the word in my head, but at that time in my life I had difficulty with confusing the sounds for J and G. As a result, although I knew the word, the very first letter out of my mouth was G. I corrected my mistake instantly, but of course that’s not good enough. Sigh. I’m positive I could have won the contest were it not for that one slip.
As for this one, I got 4 out of 5. I didn’t know the last word, but I figure I did pretty well considering I was one letter off.
That was fun, but I’m surprised at how easy the words are. I’d have expected something more challenging.
1 out of 5…
Where is the Mathlete challenge?
Did I spell Mathlete right?
Yeah, “jalapeno” is a correct spelling of the pepper the way “ano” is a correct spelling of the unit of time…
(ETA: I guess there’s a spoiler in there, so I’ve hidden it from view, though, really, if you’re this far down in the thread, you’ve probably already attempted the thing or don’t care to)
3/5
But I sort of guessed on the fifth one. I’m really not a great speller.
Why did the girl say “phosphorus” for “phosphoresce” and “jalapena” for “jalapeno”? I could not understand what the hell she was saying.
5 out of 5
Most of the time, I’m thrown by words I’ve never heard of. Not only have I heard all of these, but four of them are words I use on a regular basis.
I was kind of thrown by word #4 because I wasn’t sure how to type a certain letter it uses that isn’t in the English language and doesn’t appear on my American keyboard, but it accepted the English equivalent.
When removing the ñ in jalapeño to translate to English, why doesn’t it become jalapenyo, like cañon becomes canyon?
5/5 here, but I also won the spelling bee in elementary school 
But then I lost in the second round in the county bee. :o
5/5
Which surprised me. I’m the schlub who misspelled the name of Michael Romanov in a report on him. Every time I mentioned his name, I flubbed it. (It was the same misspelling each time, but…) This might not have been so bad, but -
My given name is Michael. :eek:
5/5.
I thought she said “phosphoresce” quite clearly, although she did kind of swallow the last syllable of “jalapeno.” Maybe there are regional accent differences involved?
I couldn’t hear the last word at all. Being unfamiliar with it to begin with, I had no chance. I ended up throwing a “aasfdasdf” into the entry form just so I could find out what she was saying.
E-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-e. Enunciate.
I missed the last one by one letter. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it written down!