What, spelling for KIDS, too?

Yes!

On New Year's Eve, we'll have a kids' bee at 5:30 (20 and under), with our regular bee at 7 (21+).

Expect a lot of prizes and fun, and special t-shirts for the kids and the 2007 Grand Champion.

Stay, if you like, to usher in the New Year with cuban music, which will begin at 9:30.

Congrats to Norton

Our champion this week was Norton, who has been regularly drinking rum-and-cokes with us for a few months now. Congratulations!

The winning word was FIANCHETTO, a move in chess.

word list from this week

Thanks to Matt Whitman, who I'm sure will be back:

Round 1:
reprieve (ding)
recuperation (ding) dermatology
pulmonary
precipitation
renounce
revelatory
desultory
referendum
powwows
sconce
rhythm (ding)
squandering
cinematographer
scrimshaw
resolute

Round 2:
legislature
luminosity
prattle
malapropism
sacrosanct (ding)
deterrent (ding)
scriptural
parmesan
refectory
safari
feint (ding)
fennel
ponderously

Tough Beer Pitcher of Words:
occultation
leguminous
desacralize
mitochondrion (ding)
derogation
rheum (ding)
lecithin
oculus (ding)
quintal (ding)
metallurgist (ding)
dermatophyte (ding)
echolalia
quiescently
ochlophobia (ding) (me! ouch!)
prognosticator
ptarmigan
quila
philippics (ding)
ptosispultaceous (ding)
peirastic (ding)
novercal
macropterous FOR THE WIN!

Thanks, Matt!

Fun Twist!

This week I changed the format slightly, and it was a lot of fun.

I drew two words out of my beer pitcher, and let the spellers choose which one to spell.

For example, you might be offered the options:

EMMELEIA

noun, Greek. a solemn and stately dance used in ancient Greek tragedy. "The dancers performed the emmeleia with grave mournful gestures."

or

ALISON

noun, English. a plant of a genus of European and Asiatic herbs having small usually yellow flowers. "Bernice added an alison to her bouquet."

I think I'll keep this up for a few weeks at least.

Fun Link: Spelling Test

Can you pass the spelling test? Well, at least you'll learn something if not!

Click here to check your knowledge of Fifty Commonly Misspelled Words.

I missed 7 (ouch).

12/31: 2007 Championship

New Year's Eve falls conveniently on a Monday this year, and we are taking full advantage of this opportunity to make the 2007 Championship Bee even more of an event.

I will either be in sequins or a tux - and I encourage all of you to make the most of the evening as well!

We will have cash for the champion and prizes for audience members. And drink specials, of course.

We'll still start at 7 (the Bee usually runs til 8:15 or so) so you can make the event the kick-off of your celebration.

Quarterly Finals: Science Teachers

Two science teachers (and friends) faced off at the end of an exciting bee for the championship.