Portland Celebrity Spelling Bee IV

We tried a "buy a word" experiment this year. The way it worked was that during the time of oral auction (5:00-6:45 p.m.), attendees would be able to purchase a word for $100 which they would then "inflict" upon the spellers in the final rounds. It turned out that these words were very difficult indeed; only one of the six, I believe, were spelled correctly by the remaining contestants. I will give them here without pronunciation or sentences. Then I will finish with the 20 list of very hard words I put together and the 26 "killer" words, which should stump any speller.

The words bought by the attendees were:

1. mycorrhiza
2. onomatopoeia
3. dachshund
4. sesquipedalian
5. eleemosynary
6. gynecocracy

VERY DIFFICULT WORDS

121. orismology (or iz MAL a jee), noun, (Greek), the science of defining technical terms; the technical terms themselves. "The orismology of zoology completely befuddled the freshman."

122. xylene (ZI leen), noun, (International Scientific Vocabulary), any of three toxic flammable oily isomeric aromatic hydrocarbons that are di-methyl homologues of benzene. "Coal-tar xylene consists of three isomeric hydrocarbons."

123. eloign (eh LOIN), verb, (Middle English from French), to take (oneself) far away. To remove to a distant or unknown place: CONCEAL. "The artist, to be creative, must eloign him or her-self from distractions."

124. dhurrie (DA ree or DU ree), noun, (Hindi and Urdu), a thick flat-woven cotton or wool cloth or rug made in India. "The dhurrie in my room was covered with dirty footprints."

125. cachexia (ka KEK see a), noun (Latin), general physical wasting and malnutrition usually associated with chronic disease. "The nineteenth-century maladie du siecle , afflicting small and great alike, was cachexia ."

126. papilionaceous (pa pi lee ah NA shus), adjective (Latin), having a corolla (as in the bean or pea) with usually five petals that include a large upper petal enclosing two lateral wings and a lower carina of two united petals.; OR, suggestive of a butterfly, showy, frivolous, capricious, erratic. "Ray Bradbury's great regard is probably due to his papilionaceous prose."

127. empressement (ahn press MAH), noun (French), demonstrative warmth or cordiality. "She acknowledged the compliment of life-like empressement. "

128. gibbous (JI bus or GI bus), adjective (Middle English from Late Latin), marked by convexity or swelling or having a hump: HUMPBACKED. "The gibbous moon didn't light our way as well a full moon would have, but it was adequate for our night-time hike."

129. milchig (MIL kik), adjective, (Yiddish), made of or derived from milk or dairy products. " Milchig and fleishig foods cannot be eaten at the same time, according to the Talmud."

130. repechage (re pe SHAZH or RE pe shazh), noun, (French), a trial heat (as in rowing) in which first-round losers are given another chance to qualify for the semifinals. "The following day there is a repechage in the same waters."

131. feuilleton ( fe ye TON), noun, (French), a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader; a short literary composition often having a familiar tone and reminiscent context. "She wrote a daily feuilleton column in Le Monde .

132. naphtha ( NAF tha or NAP tha), noun, (Greek), any of various volatile often flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixtures used chiefly as solvents and diluents. "The crowded passenger train burst into flames when hit by the tank train loaded with naphtha ."

133. hyperhidrosis (hi per hi DRO sis), noun, (New Latin), generalized or local excessive sweating. " Hyperhidrosis is a functional disorder of the sweat glands."

134. erythrism (ER eh thri zem), noun (Greek), a condition marked by exceptional prevalence of red pigmentation (as in hair or feathers). "Examples of albinism and erythrism abound in casebooks of genetic development."

135. larrup (LAR up), verb, (origin unknown), to defeat decisively, beat, flog, TROUNCE. Also means to move indolently or clumsily. "In the Middle Ages it was common practice to larrup prisoners and then place them in a dungeon."

136. jibboom (ji BUM), noun, (unknown origin), a spar that forms an extension of the bowsprit. ""Watch your head! You don't want to get injured by the jibboom ."

137. byre (BI ar), noun (Middle English), a cow barn. "The Scottish shepherd had flocks in the fold and beeves in the byre. "

138. apothegm (Ah puh them), noun (Greek), a short, pithy, and instructive saying or formulation; APHORISM. "'Make it a win-win situation,' is an overused apothegm of our day."

139. gedankenexperiment (ge DAN ken ik sper ih ment), noun (German), an experiment carried out in thought only. "Nothing was really at stake in the discussion, since what they were considering was only a gedankenexperiment. "

140. inspissate (in SPI sate or IN spi sate), verb, (Late Latin), to make thick or thicker. "Shakespeare knew how to inspissate a night for dramatic effect."

"KILLER" WORDS

Even though two of the words from the following list were inadvertently in the list of 1190, I think these are almost impossible words for many. Use them only if you really want to whittle down the contestants. This list has one word from each letter of the alphabet.

141. Argillaceous (ar je LA shus), adjective, (Latin) - of, relating to, or containing clay or clay material. "They searched the argillaceou s soil for traces of the crime."

142. Boustrophedon (bu stro FE don), noun and adjective, (Greek)--the writing of alternate lines in alternate directions (i.e., left to right and then right to left). "The epigrapher discovered a copy of the laws of Solon inscribed in a boustrophedon manner.

143. Caoutchouc (KAU chuck), noun, (French from Spanish)--India rubber; the milky resinous juices of certain trees in South America, the East Indies and elsewhere. "Caoutchouc and gutta-percha are useful for making water-pipes and rain-proof coats."

144. Dolichocephalic (da li ko se FA lik), adjective, (Greek)--thin-headed; having a relatively long head with a cephalic index of less than 75. "His pointed beard and elegantly-piled hair gave his head a weirdly dolichocephalic appearance.

145. Eisteddfod (i STETH vod), noun, (Welsh) - A competitive Welsh festival of the arts, especially of poetry and singing. "Since the time of Queen Elizabeth I no royal commission has been issued for holding an eisteddfod. "

146. Fioritura (fe or i TUR a), noun, (Italian) -a florid ornament or embellishment in music. 'The only defect I can discover in her singing is an excess of fioritura ."

147. Gnathic (NA thik), adjective, (Greek)--of or relating to the jaw. "After the car accident, he needed a gnathic resection.

148. Hypaethral (hi PEE thral), adjective, (Greek)--open to the sky; having a roofless central opening. "The temple to the Buddha was built as a hypaethral structure."

149. Intussusception (in tus sus CEP tion), noun, (Latin) -the slipping of a length of intestine into an adjacent portion, usually producing an obstruction; in figurative usage, assimilation of new material into the mind or assimilation of material and its dispersal among pre-existent matter. "O. W. Holmes Sr. could speak of the intussusception of new ideas by observing the ways of nature."

150. Jalousie (JA la see), noun, (French)--a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding direct sunlight. "Inside the small room, the jalousie threw banks of light and shade on the bed."

151. Komatik (ko MA tik), noun, (Inuit)--"an Eskimo sledge with wooden runners and crossbars lashed with rawhide. "The most useful Inuit sled for transporting heavy loads over very wide spaces is the komatik ."

152. Larrigan (LA ri gan), noun, (unknown origin)--an oil-tanned moccasin with a leg often reaching the knees. "After breakfast she rode to school with a pair of cowhide larrigans greasy with linseed oil."

153. Moue (MU), noun, (French)--a little grimace or pout. "With a quaint moue of professional vanity, he conceded defeat."

154. Nyctalopia (nik ta LO pe a), noun, (Greek)--night-blindness. "His trouble was diagnosed as nyctalopia , caused by a vitamin deficiency."

155. Onychophoran (o ni KAH fe ran), noun, (Greek)--class or phylum of primitive wormlike invertebrates intermediate between the annelid worms and arthropods. "Consider the lowly wormlike onychophoran of the tropical forest floor."

156. Phthisic (TIZ ik), noun, (Greek)--a progressively wasting or consumptive condition. "An 18 th century medical writer could say that the North wind is injurious to the cough, phthisic , and gout."

157. Quodlibet (KWAD la bet), noun, (Latin) -a philosophical or theological point proposed for disputation. "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin was a famous medieval quodlibet ."

158. Ringgit (RING it), noun, (Malay)--Malaysian dollar. "After his world tour he had trouble distinguishing a ringgit from a zloty."

159. Sphygmomanometer (sfig mo ma NAH me ter), noun, (Greek)--an instrument for measuring the force of a pulse. "All the internist really wanted for Christmas, she told her husband, was a sphygmomanometer. "

160. Terpsichorean (terp si ko RE an), adjective, (Greek)-- of or relating to dancing. "With a terpsichorean frenzy, he and his partner danced in the new year."

161. Usufructuary (yu zu FRUC chi wer e), noun,(Latin)--one having the use or enjoyment of something. "Being the usufructuary of a healthy trust account, Junior squandered millions before his 25 th birthday."

162. Vexillology (emphasis on LOL), noun, (Latin)--the study of flags. "In 1965 the first International Congress of Vexillology was held in the Netherlands."

163. Williwaw (WI li wo), noun, (unknown origin) - a sudden violent gust of cold land air common among mountainous coasts of high latitudes. Kipling could write: "The Tierra del Fuego is famous as the place where a strong and wandering willowaw gets up to dance."

164. Xebec (ZE bek or ZEE bek), noun, (Arabic)--three-masted Mediterranean sailing ship with long overhanging bow and stern. "From a distance she couldn't descry whether the ship was a lodship, tarite, spinace or xebec ."

165. Yoicks (yoiks), interjection, (unknown origin)--used as a cry of encouragement to foxhounds. "The woods resounded with shouts of " Yoicks , pick him up" and "Yoicks , wind him."

166. Zwieback (SWE bak) (ZWI bak), noun, (German) --a usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp. "John Irving wrote in The World According to Garp , 'Hope gave Nicky a zwieback and he stopped crying."

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