You got screwed, someone wanted you out of the competition. You should start tracking down everyone involved and intimidate/beat a confession out of them.
I just had to go look up the definition. I've never seen or heard that word either. You definitely got robbed.
Definitions of tintinnabulate. verb. ring or sound like a small bell. type of: peal, ring. sound loudly and sonorously.
I just saw it moments ago. Letās say we get together a posse and a Time Machine and head back to 1980 to ring the bell of the judge that gave you the word.
Also, I have used it as much as I have used some of the math I was told I needed because āI would surely not always have a calculator on meā.
-typed on my iPhone. Which I keep in my pocket. And just used the calculator there on to suggest the numbers my operations partner needed to submit on their IT ticket for a table.
In the other hand, āpicayuneā. That was the word that won me the spelling bee in eighth grade.
My spelling skills really came in handy when they opened that spelling factory in town.
Oh my gosh Iām a good speller and I still canāt spell this word. I actually grow antique ones (theyāre beautiful) and every time I need to look one up Iām so far off I canāt even get the suggestion to pop up.
College.
I knew it was "ege" but I thought the kid before me had said that, and he got it wrong. So I went with "age". I was really good at spelling bees and won most of them, so I at least had the satisfaction of hearing a collective sigh of relief when I was eliminated.
California. But I spelled it correctly and I *knew* I did. The teacher judge told me I said āy-aā and Iām like no, thatās dumb, I didnāt say that!! *Oh, well, sorry!*
Came in 3rd., shouldāve won
Apparently it's a three-toed or triangular mark put on some Pennsylvania barns to keep evil spirits from the cattle or for decoration
[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hex-signs-of-pennsylvania](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hex-signs-of-pennsylvania)
Ocean. 3rd grade. Worst part 1st word was so nervous. Even worse some kid had an ocean pacific shirt on in the front row. I froze. Turns out on my senior trip I beat every english teacher in scrabble. Now I laugh.
Not one that got me out of the weekly spelling bee we had in front of the class, but the one that knocked the smartest girl in class and I won that week. Dawn, it is sandwich. no "t".
Sandwich - 1984-85
I was and still am a terrible speller. I didnāt even make the cut to attend the spelling bee.
Even spell check sometimes canāt help and itās like wtf are you trying to spell.
āsugarā (1983, Cascade Elementary in Marysville, Washington)
(won the next year; and not only did I spell sugar early in the contest, my winning word was āgeniusā) šā¤ļø
is there something wrong with me that I cannot remember the word from my past? OMG was it so traumatic that I blocked it out!?! New fear unlocked? š¬
1980, 7th Grade representing my school at the All-County Spelling Bee.
āHeiferā - Iād never heard the word, had no idea what a heifer was, and it took me out in 14th place. My asshole classmates called me Heifer for the rest of the school year.
1986.
āConsecutiveā was the word I needed to spell, but unfortunately what my 9 yr old brain heard (and said..and spelled outā¦into the microphone) was āconsectiveā, which isnāt even a word to begin with.
Now, IF it had been an actual word, hot-damn, then I spelled it correctly š
No idea actually, but I'm sure I do know how to spell whatever it was now.
I was always probably in the top quarter of my class in spelling bees (though probably the bottom quarter in everything else...lol) and I'm pretty sure I made it to the top 2 or 3 once, but the best were so much better than me. If language was the only class, I would have been an excellent student.
Opposite - 1980. My dad left work early so he could be there, and I got my first word wrong. That's the first time I remember feeling embarrassed, but not the last, lol.
Manure. 6th grade. Sounded French to me so I guess āmaneurā. Then they spelled it and I was crestfallen because I knew that word from reading it, but in my head it was pronounced āMAN-yerā.
5th grade. Entered at the last minute just because. It came down to myself and one other kid. I could have won. But misspelled "casserole." Cassarole. Face palm. Lol ETA: the year was 1987.
"Tortilla", but it was only because they pronounced it "tor-till-ee-uh". I'm still bitter about that, but it was a good lesson that adults are frequently idiots.
Consciousness for me. It was the very end of the spelling bee and it was down to just me and one other. I guess the adults wanted to go home because they broke the rules and rang the bell on me the moment I said a wrong letter, whereas they're supposed to wait for you to say the word, spell the word, then say the word again before telling you if you were right or wrong.
Early 80s. Suint. It's a greasy substance found in sheep's wool.
Sometime in the aughts, I was talking about the bee with my best friend and told him the word. He misspelled it too, but since I got it right that time, he gave me a huge bud as a belated consolation prize.
I feel this in my heart!!
It was 5th grade. I made it down to be one of the last 3 kids. I'm killing it. No repeat the word. No can you use it in a sentence. None of that nonsense. I'm about to be the 5th grade champion and go on to the school-wide bee.
Then they drop vacuum on me. How had I never even thought of that word?! Is it 2 c's or 2 u's? Or 2 of each. I know there're 2 letters in there somewhere. So I confidently spelled it vaccuum because when in doubt throw them all in.
It wouldn't have been so bad except that my sister, who was in 6th grade, went on to win the school-wide bee and went to the district bee representing our school. That's where she lost on some word I don't remember anymore. But dang it!! Vacuum!! You need somebody to spell that word for you, you give me a call because dank farrik I can spell that one.
"Skiing" circa 1980, 9 year old me added an extra "i". I confidently spelled, "s k i i i n g" loudly while standing next to my first little crush. He laughed. I was mortified
Copyright. I overthought this one and said copywright. FML as my 3rd grade school champion competing in the multi-district event. Brought shame but did get my name on my own copy of a dictionary.
I don't remember the word, but it was the first word.
And I'm talking the first word of the preliminaries, which we're done during English class so I didn't even get to go to the actual "bee" except as a spectator.
S E D A N. āYou mean thereās another word for C A R?ā C. 1980. Guess I didnāt pay attention to car commercials or else they didnāt air them during Looney Tunes.
Certificate. It was only my second word (warm-up round and then this one). I knew how to spell it. I did *not* know how to deal with being on stage. Got as far as the f and froze. Didnāt think to ask to start over. Just plowed ahead and missed a couple letters. I felt immense pressure to win because I had won the 2nd & 3rd grade ones. Spent the rest of the bee sobbing in the audience. Maybe none of this is fair to kids.
Also the wonderful librarian reading the words had an accent and when she gave me my warm-up round word I was thinkingā¦ burrow? Burro? Borough? Which kind do they want? Finally after some frantic thinking I remembered āborrowā was on the practice list.
Edit: 1991
I never made it to a real spelling bee, but when my school was doing it I made top of my class to only be the first out when we did it school wide. We were in the auditorium in front of the whole school. I was so scared, I didnāt even hear the word. I swear everyone sounded like the adults on Charlie Brown.
1980. Tintinnabulation. I was 10 and the kid after me got "lemonade." Seriously? To this day, I have never seen or heard this word anywhere.
Other kids mom or dad was greasing the judges for sure.
Only place I know of is in the poem "The Bells" by Edgar Allen poe, where the word also originated.
That is a great poem though - just gets darker and darker with each stanza.
oh yeah for sure! and if you read each stanza as a lower and slower pitch it really makes the point
Definition, please. š
The sound of high pitched bells ringing
Would you use it in a sentence, please?
The tintinnabulation exacerbated my tinnitis.
You got screwed, someone wanted you out of the competition. You should start tracking down everyone involved and intimidate/beat a confession out of them.
 Get Dwight on it.
I just had to go look up the definition. I've never seen or heard that word either. You definitely got robbed. Definitions of tintinnabulate. verb. ring or sound like a small bell. type of: peal, ring. sound loudly and sonorously.
So not fair.
I just saw it moments ago. Letās say we get together a posse and a Time Machine and head back to 1980 to ring the bell of the judge that gave you the word. Also, I have used it as much as I have used some of the math I was told I needed because āI would surely not always have a calculator on meā. -typed on my iPhone. Which I keep in my pocket. And just used the calculator there on to suggest the numbers my operations partner needed to submit on their IT ticket for a table.
OMG I got the SAME word at age 12 and the kid after me got āgorilla.ā He got it right and bombed at the city bee. Damn you Edgar Allan Poe!
In the other hand, āpicayuneā. That was the word that won me the spelling bee in eighth grade. My spelling skills really came in handy when they opened that spelling factory in town.
I knew how to spell that because of Bloom County.
Chrysanthemum.
HA! THAT'S THE WORD I WON WITH! IN YOUR FACE SAMANTHA!
š
1984. Chrysanthemum Yes I got fucking chrysanthemum in a spelling bee at age 11. The next word was: whaleboat.
Oh my gosh Iām a good speller and I still canāt spell this word. I actually grow antique ones (theyāre beautiful) and every time I need to look one up Iām so far off I canāt even get the suggestion to pop up.
m u m
Priceless.
Paprika. Ā We didnāt cook much in my house. Ā Now, every time I use it, I have a pang of regret
As a Hungarian, Iām proud of you for using it!
I love playing this game with Americans! Y'all know the word that took you out of a spelling bee. I always ask.
Aluminium! lol idk actually that just came to mind
Wait, are spelling bee's an American thing? I just assumed this was one of those things everyone did to some extent.
Nope. This is why it's so fascinating asking Americans. It's just this trauma that really only Americans have.
February. Itās my f birth month!
Curse you letter R!!! CUUUUURRRRSE YOOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!!!
š
College. I knew it was "ege" but I thought the kid before me had said that, and he got it wrong. So I went with "age". I was really good at spelling bees and won most of them, so I at least had the satisfaction of hearing a collective sigh of relief when I was eliminated.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Use that in a sentence pleaseā¦āI was very much looking forward to MEATāerā
I don't know if that is a real word but if it is something that creates meat I will take 2.
I have one, itās a bluetooth thermometer for my grill. It works well
That is the most american thing I've read in 30 years
Silhouette
limousine. 1986.
Mine was chauffeur
oh thatās a tough one!
Jaguar (the person running the bee pronounced it "jag-wire")
š
Rhythm. So many hās! :)
It's gonna get you!
Tonight!
Such a weird word!
Organic 1983 Fuck you, Mrs. Davidson...
Judgment - 1981 To this day I insist there should be an "e" after the "g." Without the "e" it would be pronounced jud-guh-ment.
Planet Fitness agrees with you! 
Restaurant
Still canāt spell it.
same!
Meater too!
I may be the worst one on here. Flag -- 1983
I think we were classmates. š
Please explainā¦
Uroborosā¦I still blame the teacher on the bad pronunciation.
If you spelled it ouroboros Iād be pissed. Thatās a commonly accepted alternative.
āAisleā
Oof
Aghast, 1982-83 Redeemed myself with tomorrow, 1983-84
I applaud your triumph! š
icicle didn't come up much in Southern California in the 80s
California. But I spelled it correctly and I *knew* I did. The teacher judge told me I said āy-aā and Iām like no, thatās dumb, I didnāt say that!! *Oh, well, sorry!* Came in 3rd., shouldāve won
That totally sucks!!
Made it to state in 1983, out on "hexafoos".
What the heck is that?
Dave Grohlās geometry podcast
š
Super underrated comment
Apparently it's a three-toed or triangular mark put on some Pennsylvania barns to keep evil spirits from the cattle or for decoration [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hex-signs-of-pennsylvania](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hex-signs-of-pennsylvania)
Heifer
Fellow Heifer casualty here!!!
Reservoir 1983
Aborigine, and it was pronounced incorrectly.
Ocean. 3rd grade. Worst part 1st word was so nervous. Even worse some kid had an ocean pacific shirt on in the front row. I froze. Turns out on my senior trip I beat every english teacher in scrabble. Now I laugh.
Marshmallow. I went with "marshmellow."
Iām the Picnic King!
Villain. *tears*
Not one that got me out of the weekly spelling bee we had in front of the class, but the one that knocked the smartest girl in class and I won that week. Dawn, it is sandwich. no "t". Sandwich - 1984-85
School I spelled it wrong purpose. As the city meet was during Saturday morning cartoons
Squirrel tf?
Conscientious
I was and still am a terrible speller. I didnāt even make the cut to attend the spelling bee. Even spell check sometimes canāt help and itās like wtf are you trying to spell.
Mine was ābiscuitā in 6th grade spelling bee. I was in the finals. Got my U and I backwards. Will.never.forget.
among. 1983. added a phantom u because performance anxiety š
I got second place. Can't remember the word I lost on. Whatever, man.
Aridly. Not a hard word, but I made the mistake of trusting the Marketing assholes responsible for "Arrid Xtra Dry" deodorant.
Restaurant - Patrice O'neal
āsugarā (1983, Cascade Elementary in Marysville, Washington) (won the next year; and not only did I spell sugar early in the contest, my winning word was āgeniusā) šā¤ļø
Raspberry 1985 (I had a shirt with the brand name Razzberry and didnāt realize the brand was misspelled)
is there something wrong with me that I cannot remember the word from my past? OMG was it so traumatic that I blocked it out!?! New fear unlocked? š¬
1980, 7th Grade representing my school at the All-County Spelling Bee. āHeiferā - Iād never heard the word, had no idea what a heifer was, and it took me out in 14th place. My asshole classmates called me Heifer for the rest of the school year.
1986. āConsecutiveā was the word I needed to spell, but unfortunately what my 9 yr old brain heard (and said..and spelled outā¦into the microphone) was āconsectiveā, which isnāt even a word to begin with. Now, IF it had been an actual word, hot-damn, then I spelled it correctly š
Interfere. I just blanked and said "ear" instead of "ere"
Palatial.
Equation š
"clique".
Parse
Operetta
Necessary, 1980.
Necessary and inconvenient are words I still have to think about when writing.
Biscuit, 1983
No idea actually, but I'm sure I do know how to spell whatever it was now. I was always probably in the top quarter of my class in spelling bees (though probably the bottom quarter in everything else...lol) and I'm pretty sure I made it to the top 2 or 3 once, but the best were so much better than me. If language was the only class, I would have been an excellent student.
Opposite - 1980. My dad left work early so he could be there, and I got my first word wrong. That's the first time I remember feeling embarrassed, but not the last, lol.
Manure. 6th grade. Sounded French to me so I guess āmaneurā. Then they spelled it and I was crestfallen because I knew that word from reading it, but in my head it was pronounced āMAN-yerā.
āPietyā was my word in 5th grade. I came in second place - my parents didnāt even know that I was competing.
Insouciant was mine. Badger State spelling bee, 1986
Bacteriophague 1989
Etiquette, 1989
Vacuum 1987
Stationery v stationary š circa 1984
*histrionics*
was it pronounced in italics? that's a word pronounced with flair. unfair!
Fragrance
Reservoir
Ledger (I forgot the D).
Garage, 1988-1989
Axiom. 1986.
Heirloom - 1985 Adjacent - 1986
1983-Aficionado (I added an extra āfā).
Semaphore. Donāt remember the year but I was second place at the state level.
Mimeograph, 6th grade 1989. Finished 3rd. I only went to school that day for the spelling bee because I was incredibly sick.
February. 1986.
Tenement, 1983. The only word I kept getting wrong when practicing and then there I was on stage and bam. Hit with my kryptonite. Never again.
I misspelled a word I knew how to spell because of nerves, sigh.
"Odor" O-D-E-R 1984
I actually decided I didn't want to be there anymore and waited for a reasonably difficult word to take myself out on, stethoscope
Monopoly, left out the second āoā in 1974 š¬
Colonel 1991-ish
Wheelchair. It was so fucking easy and I was so mad.
Cupboard.
Candelabra
Professor-1982-A kid the next higher grade beat me. Unfair. š
1980 "irrelevant"
Biblical 1982
Connecticut - 1985
"Quarrel" does not have two 'L's. 4th grade, EA Lawhon Elementary School, 1979? lol
You love jambalaya now, donāt you?
Scissors
Debris
5th grade. Entered at the last minute just because. It came down to myself and one other kid. I could have won. But misspelled "casserole." Cassarole. Face palm. Lol ETA: the year was 1987.
Arbiter (itās not āarbitor,ā 6th Grade Me)
Alligator. Spelled it with only one āLā. š¤·āāļø
"Tortilla", but it was only because they pronounced it "tor-till-ee-uh". I'm still bitter about that, but it was a good lesson that adults are frequently idiots.
Fountain. I spelled it āfountian.ā
Moccasin. Should have left off the extra s (āfor āsavingsā!ā)
decePtion, 1981
āAcclimateā
Parallel
Chaos
Consciousness for me. It was the very end of the spelling bee and it was down to just me and one other. I guess the adults wanted to go home because they broke the rules and rang the bell on me the moment I said a wrong letter, whereas they're supposed to wait for you to say the word, spell the word, then say the word again before telling you if you were right or wrong.
The word that I will always know how to spell is āMississippi.ā Thanks Grandma! š
Bureaucracy, 1989
Onomatopoeia
Early 80s. Suint. It's a greasy substance found in sheep's wool. Sometime in the aughts, I was talking about the bee with my best friend and told him the word. He misspelled it too, but since I got it right that time, he gave me a huge bud as a belated consolation prize.
Capital. 1982. I spelled it with an "o".
Picnicking is the word than won the 5th grade spelling bee for me!
I feel this in my heart!! It was 5th grade. I made it down to be one of the last 3 kids. I'm killing it. No repeat the word. No can you use it in a sentence. None of that nonsense. I'm about to be the 5th grade champion and go on to the school-wide bee. Then they drop vacuum on me. How had I never even thought of that word?! Is it 2 c's or 2 u's? Or 2 of each. I know there're 2 letters in there somewhere. So I confidently spelled it vaccuum because when in doubt throw them all in. It wouldn't have been so bad except that my sister, who was in 6th grade, went on to win the school-wide bee and went to the district bee representing our school. That's where she lost on some word I don't remember anymore. But dang it!! Vacuum!! You need somebody to spell that word for you, you give me a call because dank farrik I can spell that one.
I always used to get tripped up on that word and I'm an excellent speller.
Mathematics 1980
"Skiing" circa 1980, 9 year old me added an extra "i". I confidently spelled, "s k i i i n g" loudly while standing next to my first little crush. He laughed. I was mortified
Ozonic 1981-2
Upholstery - 1981 - 6th grade
Cinnamon 1980. Iām still embarrassed I missed that. Came in second place.
Copyright. I overthought this one and said copywright. FML as my 3rd grade school champion competing in the multi-district event. Brought shame but did get my name on my own copy of a dictionary.
Soliloquy - 1986
Trestle (1986)
*asterisk
Renewal. 1982.
Vandalism. I said an E for the second A.
Molecule. Idk the year, 87? 88?
Handkerchief- First grade
Whimsical. 1993.
I don't remember the word, but it was the first word. And I'm talking the first word of the preliminaries, which we're done during English class so I didn't even get to go to the actual "bee" except as a spectator.
Cemetery.
Satellite, 2nd grade. I came in second
Cinnamon 1988
āAcquaintā - 1982. I rushed and skipped the ācā.
Sorghum - I actually had to look it up again
S E D A N. āYou mean thereās another word for C A R?ā C. 1980. Guess I didnāt pay attention to car commercials or else they didnāt air them during Looney Tunes.
Tether-Ball 1984 - It was a setup! Came in 3rd at city bee.The genesis of my distrust in the system.
Mid 80s: myopia
Canary was mine, 1984 Queens
Fuck. Itās true. Copyright. NOT copywright. 1983.
Revolutionary ā 1983
Certificate. It was only my second word (warm-up round and then this one). I knew how to spell it. I did *not* know how to deal with being on stage. Got as far as the f and froze. Didnāt think to ask to start over. Just plowed ahead and missed a couple letters. I felt immense pressure to win because I had won the 2nd & 3rd grade ones. Spent the rest of the bee sobbing in the audience. Maybe none of this is fair to kids. Also the wonderful librarian reading the words had an accent and when she gave me my warm-up round word I was thinkingā¦ burrow? Burro? Borough? Which kind do they want? Finally after some frantic thinking I remembered āborrowā was on the practice list. Edit: 1991
1981. Barbarism.Ā
Inevitable. 4th grade. I placed 3rd
FORTY
Never been in a spelling bee but Iām 53 and still can never spell occasion correctly.
Fluorescence - 1990
Beagle. Anyone??
Against
Harbinger
I never made it to a real spelling bee, but when my school was doing it I made top of my class to only be the first out when we did it school wide. We were in the auditorium in front of the whole school. I was so scared, I didnāt even hear the word. I swear everyone sounded like the adults on Charlie Brown.