'Ingluvies' Foils 6-Year-Old's Spelling Bee Run

Lori Anne Madison eliminated from Scripps National Spelling Bee
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2012 7:06 AM CDT
'Ingluvies' Foils 6-Year-Old's Spelling Bee Run
Six-year-old Lori Anne Madison, of Woodbridge, Va., reaches for the microphone during the second round, Wednesday, May 30, 2012, in Oxon Hill, Md.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Lori Anne Madison, at six years old the youngest Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant ever, got her first word correct yesterday: "dirigible." But in the next round, she stumbled on "ingluvies," starting the word with an "e" rather than an "i." (What does "ingluvies" even mean? It's "part of some animals' esophagus," the Washington Post explains.) Lori Anne's eyes widened when told she had spelled it incorrectly, but she still got high-fives from the other kids on her way back to her seat.

The first-grader had one other moment in the sun, when ESPN reporter Samantha Steele was asked, for fun, to spell "slobberhannes." "Lori Anne, any help with this?" Steele asked. Lori Anne came onstage and, upon hearing the word again, replied, "I think it's a joke." (More spelling bee stories.)

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