# How Well Can You Spell? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006 "2008-05-29T13:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/21 "2008-05-30T11:49:56Z")
I thought this was a test of \*English \*spelling. As far as I’m concerned, jalapeno is not an English word (Americans may think differently, of course) so the fact that I spelt it wrong _doesn’t count._ So there. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/22 "2008-05-30T12:42:04Z")
As far as I’m concerned, that girl is a MUMBLER! (especially on jalapeno, though she did pronounce it more clearly in the “origins” link). Also, hah, Edelweiß \<-- note the correct spelling, which it did not accept. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/23 "2008-05-30T13:30:51Z")
Didn’t run the quiz, but I am a pretty good speller. For years we have had a standing deal where any of my family members gets a buck if they come up with a word (that is in the unabridged dictionary) that I cannot spell correctly. I don’t think any of them has won more than 2 - maybe 3 bucks off me over the past 15 years. In a bit of a variation, I had to give my wife a buck just the other day because I questionned whether Sargeant was an acceptable spelling. When I first started this job, my immediate boss had been the national bee winner. I believe his word was eczema. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/24 "2008-05-30T17:18:06Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] As far as I’m concerned, jalapeno is not an English word… [/QUOTE] Then what is the English word for a jalapeño pepper? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/25 "2008-05-30T17:37:41Z")
5/5 Woot Woot! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/26 "2008-05-30T17:39:30Z")
4/5 Mucked up the second one. Tried 4 different spellings, but none looked right. The correct one was the FIRST guess (based on knowing how to spell phosphorescent), but it looked completely wrong. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/27 "2008-05-30T18:33:29Z")
–3. Why so low? Well, first of all, I’m a terrible speller. Goes way back to early elementary school where I thought I’d pull a fast one over on the teacher. What, I need to remember if it’s fr **ie** nd or fr **ei** nd? Bah. I’ll just make two loopy-looking scribbles in the middle and put the dot somewhere between the two, and she’ll never know the difference (figured the teacher would know what I meant). I never really caught on that the benefit of the doubt never entered teacher’s minds. End result: piss-poor spelling _and_ piss-poor handwriting. If it weren’t for word processors, my writings would be incomprehensible gobbledygook. (Now they’re just gobbledygook.) Yeah, but why _negative_? Because I’m that much of an idiot. I figured I’d at least give it a quick try, just to see if I could pull one out of nowhere (as a jalapeno-eating fool, it seems I may have gotten at least one right). So off I go to see if I can spell the words… off I go from my work computer… my work computer with no sound. How, exactly, did I expect to do that? It wasn’t a copying bee after all, so, negative three it is. Oh, and because it comes up every time Mrs. Dvl and I hear about spelling (bees or otherwise): Banana. Bah-_NAN_-na. A yellow fruit. Also, a kind of pudding. A delicious pudding. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/28 "2008-05-30T18:56:20Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Then what is the English word for a jalapeño pepper? [/QUOTE] Until now, I’ve never needed one. I doubt if I would recognise a jalapeño pepper if it hit me in the eye. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/29 "2008-05-30T20:55:57Z")
After _that_ first experience, I’m sure you’d recognize one. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/30 "2008-05-30T22:46:31Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] Until now, I’ve never needed one. I doubt if I would recognise a jalapeño pepper if it hit me in the eye. [/QUOTE] I absentmindedly rubbed my eye once after cutting a bunch of jalapeños. It was _not_ a pleasant experience. Nor, as **OtakuLoki** pointed out, is it an experience one is likely to forget. Speaking of forgetting, I think we oft forget that borrowing of nouns can be a very good thing, and that it really does become a word in its target language. Because we use the Spanish names for things like jalapeños and tequila, it’s easier for Americans to order food in Mexico. Ditto when it comes to Brits ordering crêpes and champagne in France. Those are all English words now. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/31 "2008-05-31T00:14:22Z")
When she gives the definition of the first word, she says “to increase the bitterness, severity or violence of… ???”. What is she saying at the end of this definition? I’ve listened to it many times but can’t tell. It may be me, or maybe she isn’t very good at enunciation. I got 5 out of 5, but didn’t think the words were that hard. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/32 "2008-05-31T00:15:08Z")
5/5–Sacramento County spelling bee champ circa 8th grade! Those weren’t terribly difficult words–I wrote a little timed word recognition/spelling game for my kids when they were young that used words a lot more difficult than that. Where’s the HARD test? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/33 "2008-05-31T00:23:44Z")
5/5. When people say they’re good spellers my test word for them is [flor es sent], like the lights. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/34 "2008-05-31T13:54:09Z")
5/5. All words I knew, though, unlike in the actual spelling bee. [QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] When people say they’re good spellers my test word for them is [flor es sent], like the lights. [/QUOTE] I always want to bring a Sharpie with me to the dump to correct the spelling of this one on a sign… ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/35 "2008-05-31T14:21:03Z")
[QUOTE=ianzin] When she gives the definition of the first word, she says “to increase the bitterness, severity or violence of… ???”. What is she saying at the end of this definition? I’ve listened to it many times but can’t tell. It may be me, or maybe she isn’t very good at enunciation. [/quote] She says “to aggravate”. > [@](#): > > I got 5 out of 5, but didn’t think the words were that hard. Neither did I. As a point of comparison, I watched the bee yesterday and played along. I got about 40% of the words right. Although I “knew” but a handful, I used logic (such as knowledge of how root words from Latin, Greek, and French are spelled) to compile what I felt was a pretty solid record. By the way, the local daily has a front-page story this morning about [the winner,](http://jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/NEWS/805310323&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL) who hails from West Lafayette. Of the words he had to spell, I knew _hyssop_ and _basenji_, and correctly guessed _diener_ (the first one Sameer spelled during the televised portion of the competition), _numnah_, and _taleggio_. Interestingly, the spell check feature on this computer flags all of those except for _hyssop_. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/36 "2008-05-31T23:43:54Z")
Am I missing something or is this spelling bee case sensitive? [http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/8372/exacerbatedxq0.jpg](http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/8372/exacerbatedxq0.jpg) 😕 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/37 "2008-05-31T23:53:17Z")
Yes, it is case sensitive. Look above the answer space: “Type your answer below (all lowercase)” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/38 "2008-06-01T00:14:38Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Yes, it is case sensitive. Look above the answer space: “Type your answer below (all lowercase)” [/QUOTE] :smack: That’s what I get for assuming all the actual instructions would be at the top. ---
**Author:** ![EsotericEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@EsotericEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EsotericEnigma)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006/39 "2008-06-01T03:09:00Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Didn’t run the quiz, but I am a pretty good speller. For years we have had a standing deal where any of my family members gets a buck if they come up with a word (that is in the unabridged dictionary) that I cannot spell correctly.. [/QUOTE] My dad had a similar challenge for us (no medical terms, and the word had to be in his unabridged dictionary). He was so good at it, and so confident, that the prize was $5. Between my mother, sister, and I, we won, I think, a total of $5. [QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] When people say they’re good spellers my test word for them is [flor es sent], like the lights. [/quote] I have one of those myself (though I don’t claim to be a good speller anymore). It’s horderves. Works every time! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-can-you-spell/451006.md?page=1)