In 1984 the winning word at the Scripps National Spelling Bee was “luge.” Luge, like the sport, four letters — no real tricks. In 2015 you’d need to know “scherenschnitte,” a German word for scissor cuts in paper craft. Most adults could at least attempt these words, but we’re talking about kids aged 8 to 15.
Every winning word from the Scripps National Spelling Bee shows how difficult it’s become
From “therapy” to “koinonia.”
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The national spelling bee has been a part of this country’s DNA since 1925. Interrupted only by WWII. For years the bee was pretty normal, featuring words most of us could at least attempt. Then it changed. TV coverage changed the bee and soon kids began to boot camp for competitions. They got better, the words got harder and now you need an encyclopedic knowledge of language to compete.
“I could spell this ...”
1932: Invulnerable
1933: Torsion
1934: Brethren
1935: Intelligible
1937: Promiscuous
1938: Sanitarium
1939: Canonical
1940: Therapy
1941: Initials
1942: Sacrilegious
1946: Semaphore
1948: Psychiatry
1949: Onerous
1950: Meticulously
1952: Vignette
1954: Transcept
1956: Condominium
1957: Schnappe
1959: Catamaran
1964: Sycophant
1966: Ratoon
1967: Chihuahua
1968: Abalone
1969: Interlocutory
1970: Croissant
1973: Vouchsafe
1975: Incisor
1976: Narcolepsy
1977: Cambist
1981: Sarcophagus
1983: Purim
1984: Luge
1985: Milieu
1993: Kamikaze
“I should be able to spell this, but here we are.”
1925: Gladiolus,
1926: Cerise
1927: Abrogate
1928: Albumen
1930: Albumen
1931: Foulard
1936: Eczema
1947: Chlorophyll
1965: Eczema
1971: Shalloon
1972: Macerate
1978: Deification
1982: Psoriasis
1989: Spoliator
1997: Euonym
“Now you’re making me feel dumb.”
1929: Asceticism
1951: Insouciant
1953: Soubrette
1955: Crustaceology
1958: Syllepsis
1960: Eudaemonic
1987: Staphylococci
1994: Antediluvian
2000: Demarche
“I refuse to believe any of these are real words.”
1961: Smaragdine
1962: Esquamulose
1963: Equipage
1974: Hydrophyte
1979: Maculature
1980: Elucubrate
1986: Odontalgia
1988: Elegiacal
1990: Fibranne
1991: Antipyretic
1992: Lyceum
1995: Xanthosis
1996: Vivisepulture
1998: Chiaroscurist
1999: Logorrhea
2001: Succedaneum
2002: Prospicience
2003: Pococurante
2004: Autochthonous
2005: Appoggiatura
2006: Ursprache
2007: Serrefine
2008: Guerdon
2009: Laodicean
2010: Stromuhr
2011: Cymotrichous
2012: Guetapens
2013: Knaidel
2014: Feuilleton / Stichomythia
2015: Nunatak / Scherenschnitte
2016: Feldenkrais / Gesellschaft
2017: Marocain
2018: Koinonia
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