Definition:: Lukewarm or indifferent in politics or religion
Winner:: 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, the first Kansas native to become spelling bee champion. Shivashankar later told reporters that former champion Nupur Lala, who won in 1999 and was featured in the 2002 Oscar-nominated documentary Spellbound, had inspired her to compete.
TIME spoke with Bailly about mitigating the "giggle factor," empathizing with (and being entertained by) the teenage contestants, and why spelling bees are as American as apple pie.
A look back at the winners from the past ten years.
Jamie Foxx stars as a mentally disturbed cello player in The Soloist, just the latest entry in Hollywood's recent obsession with troubled geniuses.
Are you smarter than a fifth grader? 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar won the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling 'Laodicean.' Can you spell these winning words from previous years?
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