Spelling bee

[magid]

Actually, more like a spelling test. Yesterday afternoon, I went to try my spelling fu with 18 others, to see who'd get to be on the spelling team our company is sending to a fundraiser for adult literacy next month.

I did ok, a bit above average (mean, median, and mode :-). There were 26 words, each starting with a different letter.

What were the words? They're listed below, arranged from most often spelled correctly to least. And no, I didn't get the last one. I can spell it properly in Hebrew, though.

url
lovey-dovey
hibachi
claque
muntin
xyloid
novercal
inveigle
pterodactyl
scherzando
quisling
whisht
gutta-percha
blancmange
voussoir
exophthalmic
onomatopoeia
joual
ailurophile
dyspnea
yapok
kylikes
ferule
thalweg
zizith

Comments

[bitty.livejournal.com]

well, there are 7 i *know* i'd get, but the rest would have been guesses. they could have been *correct* guesses, but they're definitely words i wouldn't know by sight.

i was amazing at spelling bees as a child. this spelling bee put the fear of god into me.
or something.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

So does that mean you are on the spelling team now?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Is that last word tzitzit? Interesting transliteration, if so, but there must be multiple acceptable spellings of it in any decent dictionary, nu?

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Hey! You made that word up! *points at any of half a dozen*

Good heavens. I mean, I know pterodactyl, but I've never even heard of about half those.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

I know I would have gotten 9 of these right -- and no, blancmange was not one of them -- but I doubt I would have correctly guessed more than maybe a couple of the others.

I know, i know, i know

[missdimple.livejournal.com]

....at least one! :)

Muntin.

Does anyone else know what that is?

And can you name the alternative M word that means the same thing?