# The National Spelling Bee ended this evening - and how! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809 "2019-05-31T06:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/1 "2019-05-31T06:31:26Z")
I like to watch this little slice of Americana, and after a few hours, when the finalists weren’t getting dinged the way the planners expected, they announced as midnight approached that anyone remaining at the end of round 20 would all be co-champions. Eight tweens will all be awarded the grand prize package, which is $50,000 and some assorted other goodies. Whoever made the winner’s trophy will have to make 7 more of them, and the announcers said that they may have to revise some of the rules (again). That was definitely something nobody was expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/2 "2019-05-31T07:00:22Z")
That guy pronouncing the words is weird. “frawn-tee-air” for frontier? “Boo-gain VEAL-ia” for bougainvillea? Note, I pronounce this “boganvee-uh” but I will admit it could have alternate pronunciations. But what I said is also a pronunciation and he didn’t use that one. And something about Dionny-sauce. (Only one of these words was a competition word.) I do think it’s strange, they have words I’ve never heard of, and I know a lot of words. I have proofread dictionaries. Words from the scientific realm, words used by Scandinavians to describe snowy fields. Frankly I have no idea if the pronouncer guy was getting those right. And then they throw in easy, recognizable words like “meerschaum,” “Komondor,” “psoas,” and “bougainvillea.” I was impressed as hell by the kids, though. They got most of those amazingly tricky words. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/3 "2019-05-31T07:15:41Z")
I never saw someone so excited about erysipelas, which used to be a fatal disease, until this evening. The words are often not so much “big” as they are not in the vocabulary of most people. For example, I only knew about the psoas muscle because I injured mine many years ago and got sciatica as a result. Last year’s winning word was “koinonia”, which was a breeze for me because I went to a Methodist church when I was a kid, and they had an adult fellowship group with that name. In 8th grade, I got to the city level and was dinged on “justification” because I missed one of the "I"s in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/4 "2019-05-31T12:43:18Z")
Stupid newspaper had a photo with the caption, “”…xxx after spelling his final word Wednesday… Gave the impression his final word was “Wednesday”! Moreover, the freaking article never gave the winning word! Couple of decades ago I had an absolutely freakish dork of a supervisor, whose claim to fame was having won the Nat’l Spelling Bee. If memory serves, his word was eczema. I’ve always been quite a good speller. But only remember being in one “bee” in grade school. Can still remember being pissed about failing on the word “I” for not saying “Capital i”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/5 "2019-05-31T13:52:28Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’ve always been quite a good speller. [Murderface is a great speller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EqHVfXkCkA). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/6 "2019-05-31T14:28:54Z")
The picture of the co-winners looks like the United Nations. Those dang lazy immigrants, don’t you know. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/7 "2019-05-31T15:10:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Eight tweens will all be awarded the grand prize package, which is $50,000 and some assorted other goodies. Are you sure that they each will get $50k? Normally in sporting events where a purse is involved if there is no decided winner and a tie, then they would split the winnings for 1st and second place. So I would expect that whatever prizes there were for places 1 through 8 would be equally divided between the 8 of them. It’s not like these organizations have unlimited budgets that they can come up with an extra $350,000 to give out. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/8 "2019-05-31T15:16:48Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Are you sure that they each will get $50k? Normally in sporting events where a purse is involved if there is no decided winner and a tie, then they would split the winnings for 1st and second place. > > So I would expect that whatever prizes there were for places 1 through 8 would be equally divided between the 8 of them. > > It’s not like these organizations have unlimited budgets that they can come up with an extra $350,000 to give out. So the rules say if there’s a tie up to six people, they combine the lower level of prizes. > [@](#): > > \*Spellers who are eliminated from the competition in the same round are assigned the same rank (place). Cash prizes for spellers who are tied for first through sixth place will be determined by the method used in the following examples: > > If two spellers tied for first place, the cash prize for each would be the sum of the prize amounts for first and second place divided by two (the number of spellers tied); therefore, each speller tied for first place would receive $37,500 (($50,000 + $25,000) / 2). They don’t have anything in place for an eight way tie though: [http://spellingbee.com/competition-information#Prizes](http://spellingbee.com/competition-information#Prizes) Looks like 7th and 8th place normally get $2000, so if they follow the same rule, they’ll each get about $14K. EDIT: Per the NYT, they’ll each get 50K. I should really check the news before doing the math. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/9 "2019-05-31T15:30:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The picture of the co-winners looks like the United Nations. Those dang lazy immigrants, don’t you know. Only if the U.N. were 7/8 of South Asian descent! I read this morning that the one “white” girl on the podium this year was the first non-South Asian winner at Scripps in like 11 or 12 years. A brief, not very conclusive explainer here: [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/us/spelling-bee-south-asians.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/us/spelling-bee-south-asians.html) EDIT: to be clear, while this is an odd situation, I have no problem with it or anything. But the spelling bee universe is not particularly ethnically diverse at the very top tier! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/10 "2019-05-31T15:35:37Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > That guy pronouncing the words is weird. “frawn-tee-air” for frontier? “Boo-gain VEAL-ia” for bougainvillea? Note, I pronounce this “boganvee-uh” but I will admit it could have alternate pronunciations. Huh. I’ve typically heard it with the “l” pronounced, and some dictionaries online don’t even list your pronunciation, but Youtube clips do show it is a common way of saying it. Learn something every day. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/11 "2019-05-31T16:20:28Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > It’s not like these organizations have unlimited budgets that they can come up with an extra $350,000 to give out. As for the money: > [@](#): > > Another game-changing development is the new invitational program known as “RSVBee,” now in its second year. In the past, spellers reached the national event only by winning a regional bee and securing a sponsor, often a newspaper, to cover expenses. But with the advent of RSVBee, which supplied 292 of this year’s 565 contestants, families who can afford a $1,500 entry fee — plus six nights at the $300-a-night Gaylord and other expenses — can bypass the traditional path to the Bee. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/12 "2019-05-31T16:28:13Z")
Why after all these years don’t they realize that EVERY kid is going to ask for definition, word origin, and sentence usage for EVERY word, and just provide all that immediately after the word is given to save time? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/13 "2019-05-31T21:44:35Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > As for the money: I heard something about RSVP but didn’t know what it was. Great - they can buy their kids’ way into the Bee. What’s next? Good grief. :mad: Several years ago, MAD magazine had a piece on the bee, and it included: - Introducing the kids with Chippendales and Hooters girls - Using the Indian kids’ names as spelling words - Just plain old making up words that don’t exist in any language - Using the words in really disturbing sentences (“Betsy became LACHRYMOSE when she saw her dog squashed on the side of the road.”) There was one finalist I was kind of glad to see dinged because I just plain old didn’t like her. Dr. Bailly would give her a word, and SHE would define it. Good heavens. I don’t think he was too happy about that either, and she said that her wardrobe consisted mainly of bee motifs, many of them made by her mother (who I’ll grant was an expert seamstress). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/14 "2019-06-01T00:57:41Z")
nearwildheaven writes: \> . . . this little slice of Americana . . . Which is no longer just for Americans. The entrants also came from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. I’m not talking about their ancestry. I’m talking about where they live now. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/15 "2019-06-01T00:59:04Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > nearwildheaven writes: > > \> . . . this little slice of Americana . . . > > Which is no longer just for Americans. The entrants also came from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. I’m not talking about their ancestry. I’m talking about where they live now. It’s just not a “national” Spelling Bee anymore without at least one contestant spelling a word with “zed.” ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/16 "2019-06-01T02:14:11Z")
If I had been a contestant I would be disappointed. I would rather come in second than share the win. They changed the rules during the contest. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/17 "2019-06-01T02:49:49Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > nearwildheaven writes: > > \> . . . this little slice of Americana . . . > > Which is no longer just for Americans. The entrants also came from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. I’m not talking about their ancestry. I’m talking about where they live now. That is true, and military kids who live on overseas bases are also eligible. “Americana” is as good a word as any to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/18 "2019-06-01T02:54:31Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > If I had been a contestant I would be disappointed. I would rather come in second than share the win. I don’t get it. Why? I’d be happy in an 8-way tie for first, with no split prize money or anything. I mean, win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win for everyone involved! Also takes the pressure off a bit. I mean, I’m pretty competetive, but I’d rather have first place with seven others and fifty Gs in my pocket than second place by my lonesome and 25. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/19 "2019-06-01T03:56:58Z")
Likewise, the 9th place person probably didn’t expect to get the 2nd place honors and corresponding lovely parting gifts. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809/20 "2019-06-01T06:40:44Z")
Also, the competition is so intense now that the top eight people today are far better than the top one person when the contest began. In the 1920’s, the winning words were gladiolus, cerise, abrogate, knack, and luxuriance. This year the eight winning words were auslaut, erysipelas, bougainvillea, aiguillette, pendeloque, palama, cernuous, and odylic: > **[List of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scripps_National_Spelling_Bee_champions)** > > The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The competition began in 1925, and was initially organized by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, until the Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company (now the E. W. Scripps Company) assumed sponsorship in 1941. Every speller in the competition has previously participated in a local spelling bee, usually org... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-spelling-bee-ended-this-evening-and-how/834809.md?page=2)