Spelling bee

A spelling bee (also sometimes a "Spelling B") is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States, and spelling bee events, along with variants, are now also held in some other countries around the world. The first winner of an official spelling bee was Frank Neuhauser, who won the 1st National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in 1925 at age eleven.

Etymology

Historically the word bee has been used to describe a get-together where a specific action is being carried out, like a husking bee, a quilting bee, or an apple bee. Its etymology is unclear but possibly derived from the Old English word bēn, meaning prayer.

History

The earliest known evidence of the phrase spelling bee in print dates back to 1850, although an earlier name, spelling match, has been traced back to 1808. A key impetus for the contests was Noah Webster's spelling books. First published in 1786 and known colloquially as "The Blue-backed Speller," Webster's spelling books were an essential part of the curriculum of all elementary school children in the United States for five generations. Now the key reference for the contests is the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary.

Spelling bee (disambiguation)

Spelling bee may refer to:

Spelling Bee (card trick)

There are two card tricks known by the name of Spelling Bee.

Cards That Know Their Names

In Cards that Know Their Names, the magician spells out the card's names one at a time, moving a card from the top of the packet to the bottom for each letter. For example, he spells "Ace", moving one card from the top of the packet to the bottom as he says "A", another as he says "c", and a third as he says "e". The next card is turned over, and it is an ace. The ace is removed from the packet and the process is repeated for "two", "three", and so on, up to "queen", until the magician is holding only one card. This last card is a king.

Method

Before starting the performance, the magician has secretly arranged the thirteen cards in the following order from top to bottom: 3-8-7-A-Q-6-4-2-J-K-10-9-5 for Ace to King. For Two to Ace it is J-4-9-2-K-8-A-5-7-3-Q-10-6

The trick is then performed as described above.

Spelling Bee

Nine cards are selected at random. The magician then allows the observer to pick up one of the piles and look at the bottom card. This is the card that is to be memorized. Then the observer places the pile on top of another pile, then that pile on top of the final pile. The magician then asks the observer to spell out out the card. They are to deal down the cards face down, each corresponding with a letter of the name of the card. First the "face value", then "of", then the "suit". Finally they are asked to spell out any five letter word and their card is then placed on top of the pile. Then the magician turns over the card and it is the original card that the observer had.