The Scripps National Spelling Bee is here, representing one of the most vigorous — and prestigious — academic competitions in America. Unsurprisingly, a competition as renowned as the national ...

The word list is a speller’s most important possession. A serious speller can be seen poring over his beloved list in all the free time that he can get his hands on. This is because any wise ...

A look into how the words get chosen for the New York Times Crossword. By Isaac Aronow If we were to go by the New York Times Crossword, Lake ERIE would be the most dazzling body of water on Earth.

There’s a word UC Berkeley comparative literature Ph.D. student Frank Cahill will never forget. He misspelled it as an eighth grader in the second round of the live televised Scripps National Spelling ...

OXON HILL, Md. — As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care. Before ...

When Laiba Ali was in the fourth grade she came home from school with some exciting news for her mom: She won the class spelling bee. Her mother, Shahla Ali was in her residency in medical school at ...

On this week’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Slate’s podcast about language, hosts Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer spoke with Sam Ezersky, digital puzzles editor for the New York Times, about the ...

How to become a Genius, and how to talk about it. By Isaac Aronow Words must include the center letter. Words must contain at least four letters. Letters can be used more than once. Our word list does ...

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Follow Mark Abadi Every time Mark publishes a story, you’ll get an ...