Can you spell like a champ? The national bee's pronouncer tests your skills.
May 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
May 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m. EDT 4 minutes ago
Can you spell like a champ? The national bee's pronouncer tests your skills.
Before he was asked to spell 'elucubrate,' Jacques Bailly had never heard the word.
The then-14-year-old had survived round after round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee when the pronouncer read off the verb, Latin in origin, which means 'to work out or express by studious effort.' Bailly, an eighth-grader from Denver, had 90 seconds. Sweating under the hot glare of the stage lights, he thought through what he knew about Latin linguistics.
Then, he recalled, 'I gave my best guess.'
After rattling off the right 1o letters in the right order, Bailly became the champion of the 1980 national spelling bee. The self-described 'word nerd' went on to work for the competition, starting as an associate producer in 1991 before becoming head pronouncer in 2003. He is what bee officials call a 'spellebrity,' and he describes his role as a 'tremendous privilege.'
This year marks a century since the first national spelling bee was held. Bailly, a professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Vermont and a speaker of English, French and German, will be back pronouncing during the May 27 to 29 competition at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor.
For The Washington Post, he selected and pronounced 10 winning words from 100 years of America's most famous spelling contest. Can you spell like a champion? Make a beeline to the quiz below to find out.
How to play
Round 1 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, French origin
Definition: a moderate red color
a. cerise
b. sarise
c. cereze
d. cihrise
Round 2 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, from a Latin word that became Italian and then French
Definition: a noisy quarrel: brawl, fight, altercation
a. frackas
b. frecas
c. fracas
d. fraycus
Round 3 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, French origin
Definition: the green coloring material of plants that is essential to photosynthesis
a. chlorophyl
b. chloraphyll
c. chloraphyl
d. chlorophyll
Round 4 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, formed in French from Latin-derived elements
Definition: a short literary sketch chiefly descriptive and characterized usually by wit and subtlety
a. vignete
b. vignette
c. vinette
d. vinyet
Round 5 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, Latin-derived Spanish
Definition: a stalk or shoot arising from the root or crown of a perennial plant
a. rattoon
b. ratoon
c. ratune
d. rattune
Round 6 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, formed from originally Greek parts
Definition: a condition characterized by a transient compulsive tendency to attacks of deep sleep
a. narcalepsie
b. narkalepsy
c. narcolepsy
d. narcalepsy
Round 7 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, of French origin
Definition: a sport in which competitors slide down a steep, curving ice track on small sleds that are ridden in a supine position
a. luge
b. looj
c. louge
d. looge
Round 8 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, of Japanese origin
Definition: a member of a Japanese air attack corps in World War II assigned to make a suicidal crash on a target
a. kamikazee
b. kamikaze
c. commacazi
d. kamikazi
Round 9 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: adjective, of Greek origin
Definition: indigenous, native, aboriginal — used especially of floras and faunas
a. autochthonous
b. autoctonaus
c. autochtonaus
d. autochthonus
Round 10 Hint (2 remaining)
Part of speech: noun, German-derived Yiddish
Definition: a small mass of leavened dough cooked by boiling or steaming (as with soup, stew or fruit with which it is to be served); a dumpling
a. kahneidel
b. kanaidel
c. knaidle
d. knaidel
You need to answer every question to see your result.
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