![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidTonight was the spellling bee put on by the Boston Adult Literacy Fund, this year at Eaton Vance's Boston office (overlooking both Quincy Market and the water; quite the impressive location).
There were 25 teams, so there were five semifinal rounds with five teams each. The first round was easy words, the next two were intermediate words, and subsequent rounds were difficult words (though they seemed to be more of the super-tough than merely difficult). The guest host (Robin Young, from WBUR's Here and Now) said the word, gave the definition, and used it in a sentence. Actually, it usually was multiple pronunciations, since she didn't always get it right the first time (there was an expert there to help out), plus we could ask for repetitions. As each team was given their word, it was put on two screens behind and to the side of where the competitors sat, so the audience could see, but none of the active spellers could.
It was exciting to be there. When the first team barely missed a tricky word, there was a huge sigh from the audience, word nerds totally engrossed in it all. Very cool.
I played along, trying to spell all the words before checking the screens, partly for the challenge, and partly to keep from getting nervous; we were in the fourth semifinal round. Oh, yeah: teams were three people (sometimes two), and we could confer on a spelling until one person spelled it into the microphone. And if every team missed in a round, they kept spelling.
In the semifinal, we got mesmerize, raillery, ziggurat, sanguinolent (missed, but the other team left at this point also missed), rotogravure, and gadroon, which we guessed right on, and won us the round.
There were five teams in the final, including another division from our $CorporateParent, and it ended up being our two teams at the end. Our words (the first one "intermediate", the rest "difficult") were lilliputian, nyala, etymon (total guess, but we got it), nimiety (missed, but so did they), clinquant (missed again (barely), but so did they), and orrery. Which we spelled, quickly, being one of the random words I'd brought to a practice session last week, and won the bee, laughing in surprise (of the word being one we'd practiced, and winning). Whee!
Only later did I hear that in previous years with different (flush) sponsors, winners got cross-country trips and such. Phooey.
I have the rest of the words, but I don't feel like typing them in just now, but if any word-lovers want them, I'll do it.</lj-cut.
There were 25 teams, so there were five semifinal rounds with five teams each. The first round was easy words, the next two were intermediate words, and subsequent rounds were difficult words (though they seemed to be more of the super-tough than merely difficult). The guest host (Robin Young, from WBUR's Here and Now) said the word, gave the definition, and used it in a sentence. Actually, it usually was multiple pronunciations, since she didn't always get it right the first time (there was an expert there to help out), plus we could ask for repetitions. As each team was given their word, it was put on two screens behind and to the side of where the competitors sat, so the audience could see, but none of the active spellers could.
It was exciting to be there. When the first team barely missed a tricky word, there was a huge sigh from the audience, word nerds totally engrossed in it all. Very cool.
I played along, trying to spell all the words before checking the screens, partly for the challenge, and partly to keep from getting nervous; we were in the fourth semifinal round. Oh, yeah: teams were three people (sometimes two), and we could confer on a spelling until one person spelled it into the microphone. And if every team missed in a round, they kept spelling.
In the semifinal, we got mesmerize, raillery, ziggurat, sanguinolent (missed, but the other team left at this point also missed), rotogravure, and gadroon, which we guessed right on, and won us the round.
There were five teams in the final, including another division from our $CorporateParent, and it ended up being our two teams at the end. Our words (the first one "intermediate", the rest "difficult") were lilliputian, nyala, etymon (total guess, but we got it), nimiety (missed, but so did they), clinquant (missed again (barely), but so did they), and orrery. Which we spelled, quickly, being one of the random words I'd brought to a practice session last week, and won the bee, laughing in surprise (of the word being one we'd practiced, and winning). Whee!
Only later did I hear that in previous years with different (flush) sponsors, winners got cross-country trips and such. Phooey.
I have the rest of the words, but I don't feel like typing them in just now, but if any word-lovers want them, I'll do it.</lj-cut.