Test your spelling skills in this ‘slightly educational’ fundraiser

In most cases, “slightly educational” isn’t how you’d want to bill an event – but the Columbia Spells adult spelling bee is an exception.

The annual fundraiser for the Columbia Children’s Theatre challenges three-person teams to spell words that may be too difficult – or too edgy – for the spelling bees you remember from school.

The event starts with a 6 p.m. happy hour, and spelling kicks off at 7 p.m. No one under 21 will be admitted.

Scott Padgett will emcee, and former Columbia English teacher Gerald Floyd will serve as the professional enunciator.

The three previous winning teams – the Phonics Hookers (2017), UnicornSlaughterHouseDeathMatch (2016) and the Bee-Dazzlers (2015) – all have registered to compete this year. And in addition to the bee winners, Columbia Spells offers a People’s Choice Award, determined by audience contributions, and a Best Team Theme Award to be selected by the judges.

Here are a few words that have shown up in the past, courtesy of Larry Hembree, the theater’s director of development:

Easiest word ever given

Zit: Noun. A small, red, swollen spot on the skin.

Short but tricky words

Acai: Noun. The deep purple, edible berry of a Central and South American palm tree.

Ersatz: Adjective. Serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial.

Ennui: Noun. A feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom.

Snafu: Noun. A badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation.

Misspelled by lots of teams

Hembree says he was surprised so many teams misspelled these but notes, “Most (words in this category) had some foreign influence.”

Boutonniere: Noun. A flower or small bouquet worn, usually by a man, in the buttonhole of a lapel.

Bodhisattva: Noun. A person who has attained prajna, or Enlightenment, but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others to attain Enlightenment.

Weimaraner: Noun. Any of a large breed of hunting dog that originated in Germany, having a smooth grayish coat.

Words we all know but never learn to spell

Hippopotamus: Noun. A large herbivorous mammal found in and near the rivers and lakes of Africa, able to remain under water for a considerable time.

Conscientious: Adjective. Controlled by or done according to one’s inner sense of what is right.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Test your spelling skills in this ‘slightly educational’ fundraiser."