You’ve definitely never heard this year’s winning National Spelling Bee word, unless you *really* know fashion
Yesterday, 12-year-old Ananya Vinay won the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Spelling bees can get really tough in the final rounds, but this year’s winning National Spelling Bee word was more obscure than usual. The word? “Marocain,” which is a fabric that’s usually made of silk or rayon. Vinay showed no stress as she parsed out the word. It’s especially tricky because there are a lot of consonants shoved in there! An amateur speller could have easily been tricked into tossing an extra “c” or “r” in the mix. Vinay wasn’t troubled at all though. She beat her competitor, Rohan Rajeev, and the other previous 291 spellers, by taking it easy. “I just focused on my word and tried to spell it right,” she told CNN. To be fair, that is the name of the game.
In fact, she might have been in shock that she won. Until her dad ran onstage to hug her, she barely let out a smile. But after an hours long competition, no one can be expected to remain in good spirits. It was a very tough competition this year, as she and Rajeev went back and forth for 20 long rounds. Unfortunately, Rajeev was stumped when it came to spelling “marram,” which is a type of grass. (Seriously, who knows all this stuff?) Vinay is the first outright winner int he past three years, too. Recently, the National Spelling Bee has ended in ties when the contestants are able to run through the entire list of words.
The National Spelling Bee words are no joke.
What even is marocain? This 12-year-old just won the Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling it correctly https://t.co/HWjiICBOVa pic.twitter.com/JQwfHNIIvy
— CNN (@CNN) June 2, 2017
The Fresno, California sixth grader told Good Morning, America that it was “really amazing” to win the trophy (along with $40,000 that she plans on splitting with her brother to save for college). “But I’m kind of tired at the same time,” she added. Heard, Ananya.
Vinay wasn’t nervous at all. She said on Friday that when she heard the final word she immediately knew it. “And I knew that I was going to win,” Vinay added. Now THAT’S how you win a competition. The only word that really stumped her? “Covefe.”
President Trump's typo "covfefe" stumps America's new spelling bee champ https://t.co/7W7WuikHxr pic.twitter.com/5qIM8jfvwz
— CNN (@CNN) June 2, 2017
Yeah, we didn’t get that one either.
