Impossible US Spelling Bee 2005 Quiz

Answer: souvenir

This was the first word on the National Spelling Bee written test in 2005. It comes from the French phrase, "se souvenir," meaning to remember.

Answer: xenocentric

This word comes from the same root as "xenophobia," meaning "fear of strangers or foreigners". Those who have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" may remember the term "xeno," meaning foreigner, that was used in it.

Answer: coiffure

This word, given in the 3rd round, eliminated one of the favorites to win the competition, Kendra Yoshinaga. This was considered by many to be one of the hardest words in the round. It comes from the French word "coiffer" meaning groom.

Answer: ricochet

This fairly common word was given in Round 4. It was considered to be the easiest word in the round. It also comes from the French, from the word "ricocher" meaning to rebound.

Answer: dissilient

This, unfortunately, was the word I missed in round 4. I spelled it "desilient." But making it to round 4 still earned me 52nd place out of the 273 spellers in the competition, so I was satisfied with how I did. Its root is similar to that of the root of the word "resilient."

Answer: daguerreotypes

This was the first word given in round 5. It comes from the name of the French painter Louis J.M. DaGuerre.

Answer: sphygmomanometer

As intimidating as this round 5 word seems, it was spelled correctly by Anurag Kashyap, who later became the champion. Interestingly, this word also has a French origin. It comes from the French word "sphygmomanomètre," meaning (of course) sphygmomanometer. OF course, both of these words ultimately come from the Greek.

Answer: prosciutto

Many may be familiar with this very popular Italian ham, which appeared in round 6. It comes from a Latin verb meaning to suck out, which probably is an allusion to its dryness.

Answer: filiciform

11-year-old Samir Patel received this word in round 6. When told he was correct, he yelled out, "Thanks mom!", arousing the audience's laughter. He went on to tie for second in the finals, a commendable achievement. In Latin, the prefix "filic-" means fern.

Answer: sommelier

Whenever you attend a fancy restaurant, and a man brings out a bottle of wine for you try, he is known as the sommelier. This word was given in the seventh round. Although it did travel through French, this word originally came from the Latin word "sauma," meaning packsaddle.

Answer: heterocoelous

When Finola Hackett, the last Canadian contestant remaining, received this word in the eighth round, she was sure that she would be out of the competition. However, she made an educated guess and it turned out to be right. The suffix -coelous, meaning cavitied, can make for a tricky spelling word because the o is silent.

Answer: cancrizans

When Hannah Smith got this word in the ninth round, she just laughed and said, "Whatever!", getting the audience in hysterics. She spelled it "cancrazanz" and was knocked out of the competition, but remains a memorable contestant. This word comes from the Latin word "cancer" meaning crab. Look again at the definition, and you may realized that it comes from the Latin word for crab because they walk backwards.

Answer: trouvaille

Aliya Deri, who tied for second, was knocked out on this word. Many believe it is the hardest word in the competition (it has FOUR silent letters in it.) It comes from a French 101 verb: "trouver," meaning to find.

Answer: Roscian

The kid I mentioned before, Samir Patel, was eliminated after misspelling this word (He spelled it "Rossian.") The word Roscian comes from the name of a person who was famous in ancient Rome. His name was Quintus Roscius.

Answer: appoggiatura

This was the winning word for Anurag Kashyap, the National Spelling Bee champion! Congratulations to him! I hope you enjoyed my quiz! And in case you were wondering about the root of the winning word, it comes from the Italian verb "appoggiare" meaning to lean or rest.