Spellerific

Yeah, that’s the Fink. Spelling is one of the 1.7 things in this world that comes easy to me. I won a spelling bee in the 8th grade; I thought it was the Academy Awards. My prize was a brand new paperback copy of The Andromeda Strain. It was the first real sci-fi novel I’d ever read (think an early version of Stephen King’s The Stand, but without the devil and the whole weirdness in Nebraska, and…well, maybe it’s totally different, so forget that) and I remember my ookiness at the crazy guy who drank SternoAnd he was completely immune to the virus. Bizarro.

Anyway, I love spelling, and I think it should be taught at *every* grade level, K-12. But that’s another whine for another week…

While waiting to leave for my gig last night (which went very well — one down, four to go), I stumbled upon the Oxford Dictionaries Spelling Challenge. Hmmm. Spelling challenge? Them’s fightin’ words. So I took it — eight times. Six of the eight ended in a perfect score; the others I blew by one error, misspelling plebeian and plebiscite. RATS.

Check this out, though. Here are the results of the six:

After only five or six times through it, I began to see repeated words. Huh? I mean, it helped me to get plebeian and plebiscite the second time around, but seriously? Over a million words in the English language, and you can come up with only a hundred to put on a “Fiendish”-ly difficult spelling test?

Ah, well. Whaddya want for free? Bigger problems await me today, anyhow — me and my NyQuil-addled brain. Totally hung over from it, but it sure helps me make it through the night.

The only thing better than last night’s Ohio State loss would be a Browns loss today. Yes, you read that right, and fellow football heads know why. I want them to lose out. Nothing can be gained by winning now, except maybe a little man-pride at beating the Patriots — which is not going to happen. I plan to enjoy the surreal experience whilst coughing my fool head off on the couch.

But you know what? The vanilla latte I just made was fantastic. :-D

Happy Sumday, fiends! Now go buy me a Chrispus gift.

8 thoughts on “Spellerific

  1. PKPudlin

    You realize, of course, that Nyquil is just green Jack Daniels. This explains your “hangover”.

    I have put a moratorium on Christmas spending: no one is to spend more than $500 on me this year. It’s just Christmas – not a political campaign, you know.

    I really think that if Cleveland would change it’s color, it might do better. Brown somehow just ain’t doin’ it for them. Maybe something from the cooler spectrum? “The Cleveland Chartruses” – not bad – got some alliteration going there… something to think about.

    PK
    Allergic to Football and proud of it.

    Reply
    1. Rat Fink Post author

      I always look forward to your goofy comments, fiend!

      Being allergic to football & all, it might be good to tell you that “Browns” doesn’t allude to color, but to Paul Brown. But you knew that, of course. :P And hey, brown is my favorite cullah! The orange, however, I could do without.

      I think it’s great that you’ve put a $500 limit on your gifts. But it’s slightly less fun than a $500 minimum, which is what I should have told the Thriller. Yay!!

      Reply
  2. David

    Liz and I have this litle game evry year she says “Oh David donut get me anything this year.” Of course I never listen as I am wise to that ruse. I have a secrat store that specalizes in vintage, pieonier womans stuf and I get her somthin from there every year…it is her surrprise evry year.

    I never had a problem with spellin since I alwayz use the spell checkered her on the computer…enuf siad.

    Reply
    1. Rat Fink Post author

      HA — that comment looks like you played a different game: every time you hit the space bar, take a drink.
      LOL hahaha

      Reply
  3. Marshall Wheeler

    You ma’am are the only person I know that gets upset about words getting repeated on an online spelling bee…

    Reply

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