éminence grise:
1: a confidential agent; especially : one exercising unsuspected or unofficial power
2: a respected authority; specifically : elder statesman
(from Merriam-Webster)
Last Saturday was the annual Atlanta Open Orthographic Meet (aka spelling bee), held at Manuel's Tavern every year on the first Saturday after Valentine's Day. It's an adult competition (e.g. beer is consumed) and the room is packed every year. Here's the short radio story that WABE's Kate Sweeney did for last year's event.
Every year, the Bee Committee picks a particularly timely word to start the competition, the first word in Round 1. Typically it's related to major news stories of the past year, wars and political campaigns and so forth, but this year was special. For decades, Ed Martin had been an active member of the group that runs the group, and had passed away just last month (see my previous entry here). He sometimes referred to himself as an "eminence grise", and that was what the Committee chose for this year's word, honoring him with a short speech before the competition got properly underway. Pardon me, there's something in my eye ...
This year, the first several words in the first round were very difficult, and I took perverse delight in watching a nearby table of excited newbies rapidly deflate as they realized that they weren't as smart as they though they were. That annual rite of mass ego correction usually doesn't happen until Round 2. In the end, though, the later words in Round 1 eased up and it all turned out to be about average -- you could make a couple errors and still advance. This year I didn't actually make any "stupid" mistakes in Round 1, rather my two errors ("just deserts" and "gazump") were simply words that I didn't know how to spell right.
So, despite my typical two mistakes I managed to make it to the second round, which I have about a 50/50 chance of achieving in any given year. All a Round 1 win does really is postpone when I can relax and start drinking harder. Round 2 did send me packing as it usually does.
Nedda and Keith joined us at our table again -- Nedda's been doing quite well at this since we introduced her to it in 2013, and she appears to be a lifer now. Former winner (of the whole damn thing!) Ed Hall also showed up, and made it to the final round! Alas, Ed came in second, along with perennial bridesmaid Fred Roberts. That poor guy (Fred), he always comes in second ...
Here's a sampling of this year's words:
Round 1: spatchcock, seraphim, cashew, viscount, croissant
Round 2: plimsoll, abscissa, corniche
Round 3: corymb, limen, phenolphthalein, wherry
Round 4: ceorl, uintjie, lotte
(As I type this, the spellchecker is upset with nearly every word beyond Round 1, and indeed doesn't even recognize Round 1's spatchcock.)
In addition to the lead-off term that paid tribute to Ed's passing, the one word that will be particularly memorable to me this year was towhee in Round 2, because I knew it but inexplicably screwed up the spelling. So I know what word I'll be obsessed with in 2015 ...
I've written about this annual event before -- click to see the 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 writeups.
R. I. P., Ed.
Ed - we hardly knew ye, so it turns out.
R.I.P.
Posted by: GF | March 04, 2015 at 08:29 AM