A-P-P-O-G-G-I-A-T-U-R-A

Appoggiatura. Now what the hell does THAT mean?

Regardless of what it means, it was the 18th word spelled correctly by Anurag Kashyap, the winner of 78th (2005) Scripps National Spelling Bee. I never cease to be amazed by these kids and their ability to spell words. Since I neglected to repeat a correctly spelled word in the 5th grade and was ousted in the first round of my grade school's spelling bee, my enthusiasm for these events has since shifted to that of an entranced spectator. My palms sweat, I grind my teeth and I repeat "Please use the word in a sentence" over and over in my head as these future copy editors, chemical engineers and Barnes & Nobel district managers wiz through word spellings quicker than an Atlanta bride-to-be looking for the local bus terminal.

I guess my interest really hit full stride when Rebecca Sealfron won the 70th Scripp's Bee a few years back. Her spastic spelling of EUONYM was the highlight of the evening news for a few solid days after she won and really did more for exposure to the Bee than any good black tie affair could. Plus the fact that ESPN has been carrying the finals live for a good while does not hurt either.

And Rebecca's winning only proved to be a springboard for more to come. The wonderful documentary Spellbound provided intriguing insight and background to 7 participants in the 1999 National Bee. I was very P-I-S-S-E-D when it did not win the Oscar that year.

But it did not stop there. Spelling has finally hit the Great White Way with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Nominated for 6 Tonys, it is sure build on it's off Broadway reputation and become a fun theatre classic for all to enjoy. I hear that theatre attendees are pulled onstage to take their stab at, what else, spelling. I need to put in some O-V-E-R-T-I-M-E so I can buy a ticket to the show!

From www.m-w.com

Appoggiatura - ap·pog·gia·tu·ra
Pronunciation: &-"pä-j&-'tur-&
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian, literally, support:

an embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone and usually written as a note of smaller size

I will try to use it in at least two conversations today. (Sure!)
Congratulations Anurag.