The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads
The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads originally appeared on Parade.
Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Well, probably not smarter the 5th graders who competed in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The weeklong event began with 243 eager underage spellers from all over the United States and its territories. By the end of the preliminary rounds, only nine spellers remained. Of them, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki of Plano, Tex. emerged victorious, earning a cash prize of $50,000. The final word the competition came down to?
"Éclaircissement."
Huh? Is that like an éclair pastry that got stuck in cement? According to Merriam-Webster, an éclaircissement is "a clearing up of something obscure." To use it in a sentence: "Learning the definition of éclaircissement was an éclaircissement."
This wasn't Zaki's first spelling rodeo. According to The New York Times, he was actually last year's runner up, and came back this year ready to win it all. It wasn't a straight sail to victory, though. Zaki had the opportunity to wrap up the competition sooner, but jumped the gun misspelling the uncommon word "commelina" with a K. "I was stunned, but still cautiously optimistic," Zaki's coach, Scott Remer, said.
When he was given a second shot at victory, Zaki didn't even flinch. As he finished spelling the winning word, he became audibly choked up. When they told him he was correct, he fell to the floor in triumph. The spelling bee's executive director, Corrie Loeffler, called it "about the most exciting ending I've ever seen."
This year's bee was a particularly special one, as it marked the competition's 100th anniversary. 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser won the first spelling bee in 1925 with the word "gladiolus." Per The Los Angeles Times, he won a trip to the White House to meet then-President Calvin Coolidge, and $500—in gold! Not bad for 1925.
'It was a lot easier back then,' Neuhauser said at the 2008 bee. 'There were only eight competitors instead of 288. I'd never make it now.'
The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads first appeared on Parade on May 30, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
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