Essay Love to Read
1. Gladiolus, 1925. The word (a type of flower) is notable not due to its complexity, but because it was the first-ever winning word.
2. Albumen, 1928. The white part of an egg.
3. Promiscuous, 1937. I just like the idea of an eight-year-old asking the judges to use it in a sentence.
4. Crustaceology, 1955. The study of crustaceans, of course. Doesn't it roll off of the tongue nicely?
5. Syllepsis, 1958. This is a complicated definition: "A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word." Say what? How about an example from Dorothy Parker: "It's a small apartment. I've barely enough room to lay my hat and a few friends." There's also the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman": "She blew my nose and then she blew my mind."
6. Smaragdine, 1961. Of or pertaining to emeralds, or having the color of emeralds. "What beautiful smaragdine eyes you have."
7. Esquamulose, 1962. Not covered in scales or scale-like objects. Can we bring this one back? "Hey, Jessie. You're looking especially esquamulose today."
1. SCHWARMEREI, 2012 & 2004.
Note to future contestants: Learn the correct spelling of this German origin noun, which means excessive sentimentality, as it has knocked out two contestants in the final round in the past decade. One was 13-year-old Akshay Buddiga in 2004, who had famously fainted on stage only to get back up and correctly spell “alopecoid” earlier in the competition.
2. SORITES, 2011.
Concluding that there was a “p” at the beginning of this noun, which is a type of argument that has several successive premises leading to one conclusion, was the undoing of Canadian Laura Newcombe.
3. TERRIBILITA, 2010.
An expression of intense anger or emotion, particularly in the conception or execution of a work of art. (Or the losing of a spelling competition? Three students tied for second place in 2010.)
4.
2. Albumen, 1928. The white part of an egg.
3. Promiscuous, 1937. I just like the idea of an eight-year-old asking the judges to use it in a sentence.
4. Crustaceology, 1955. The study of crustaceans, of course. Doesn't it roll off of the tongue nicely?
5. Syllepsis, 1958. This is a complicated definition: "A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word." Say what? How about an example from Dorothy Parker: "It's a small apartment. I've barely enough room to lay my hat and a few friends." There's also the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman": "She blew my nose and then she blew my mind."
6. Smaragdine, 1961. Of or pertaining to emeralds, or having the color of emeralds. "What beautiful smaragdine eyes you have."
7. Esquamulose, 1962. Not covered in scales or scale-like objects. Can we bring this one back? "Hey, Jessie. You're looking especially esquamulose today."
1. SCHWARMEREI, 2012 & 2004.
Note to future contestants: Learn the correct spelling of this German origin noun, which means excessive sentimentality, as it has knocked out two contestants in the final round in the past decade. One was 13-year-old Akshay Buddiga in 2004, who had famously fainted on stage only to get back up and correctly spell “alopecoid” earlier in the competition.
2. SORITES, 2011.
Concluding that there was a “p” at the beginning of this noun, which is a type of argument that has several successive premises leading to one conclusion, was the undoing of Canadian Laura Newcombe.
3. TERRIBILITA, 2010.
An expression of intense anger or emotion, particularly in the conception or execution of a work of art. (Or the losing of a spelling competition? Three students tied for second place in 2010.)
4.