i messed up the spelling bee....

gonzo · September-21st-2007, 04:34 AM

i was on a two person team representing barnes and noble tonight. it was a charity spelling bee sponsored yearly by our local literacy council. local companies pay a $1500 fee to be in the bee and the money goes to charity.
my partner karyn and i were up against 4 other teams sponsored by local companies. we were getting all the hard words(the other teams commented that this was so) and still kicking ass and taking names. then we got the word dobloons(sp)(spanish gold currency??). and i ,jazzcorners own gonzo ate the big one and cost us the match.

i was never a pirate fan. never read books about pirates as a kid. hell, i didn't even watch pirates of the carribean until it had already been out for two years on video, and i only thought it was ok. i'm still not sure i'm spelling it right now.

vibes · September-21st-2007, 05:41 AM

doubloon

One entry found for doubloon.

Main Entry: dou·bloon
Pronunciation: "d&-'blün
Function: noun

Etymology: Spanish doblón, augmentative of dobla, an old Spanish coin, from Latin dupla, feminine of duplus double -- more at DOUBLE

: an old gold coin of Spain and Spanish America

jesus marion joseph · September-21st-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vibes

doubloon

One entry found for doubloon.

Main Entry: dou·bloon
Pronunciation: "d&-'blün
Function: noun

Etymology: Spanish doblón, augmentative of dobla, an old Spanish coin, from Latin dupla, feminine of duplus double -- more at DOUBLE

: an old gold coin of Spain and Spanish America

I would have guessed "dubloon", so don't feel bad, gonzo!

patricia · September-21st-2007, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

I would have guessed "dubloon", so don't feel bad, gonzo!

I would have spelled it like that too, jmj. But, as anyone here knows, spelling is not my strong suit. But none of my family or friends can beat me at Trivial Pursuit. So, there's that.

Chin up, Gonzo.
If JMJ would have spelled it wrong, you're in good company.
The only person I knew who might have automatically spelled it right was my late mother.
She paid attention to the derivation of words in the dictionary as well as the phonetics and thus...

Gentle Giant · September-21st-2007, 09:28 AM

No shaym. Speling iz harde.

jaka · September-21st-2007, 09:31 AM

Aaahhh, doublons (french spelling)...

My great great great grandfather and family before him supposedly had millions of them, or their equivalent in spanish currency of their time. The treasure did not make it to the next generation that settled in France at the beginning of the 19th century. *sigh*

larrycohen · September-21st-2007, 10:59 AM

I can sympathize.
I won my class spelling bee in 5th grade, and entered the school spelling bee, and lost it on the word "bookkeeper".
The next year in 6th grade I was close to winning my class spelling bee, and messed up on the same word!

I'll never again forget that bookkeeper has 2 "K"s, not 1 "K".

tippy · September-21st-2007, 12:47 PM

I would have spelled it correctly* but wanted to stop by from my busy day and congratulate you for making it so far all the same. Better luck next year.

*hee hee, *so* kidding my brutha. Nice work anyway, I say!

GoodSpeak · September-21st-2007, 01:23 PM

I was once a good speller, too.

[occupational hazard]

I feel your pain, Gonzo.

Tom Storer · September-21st-2007, 01:39 PM

I thought everyone knew how to spell "doubloon." What's wrong with you people, anyway?

patricia · September-21st-2007, 01:50 PM

I don't know guys. I suppose rather than write the word on a piece of paper, if I ever see a stack of doubloons and want a couple, I'll just point at them with a curious look and hope that the nice person will bring them to me.

walto · September-21st-2007, 01:54 PM

How about pieces of ate?

bluenoter · September-21st-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzo

hell, i didn't even watch pirates of the carribean until it had already been out for two years on video, and i only thought it was ok. i'm still not sure i'm spelling it right now.

Caribbean. One R, two B's.

I've been cruising Craigslist for used furniture. Shockingly common renditions of a synonym for "dresser":

"chest of draws"

and, even worse,

"chester draws."

And "armoire"? The variations are amazing.

Pete C · September-21st-2007, 06:32 PM

I always came in second to Judy Kluger.

GoodSpeak · September-22nd-2007, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Storer

I thought everyone knew how to spell "doubloon." What's wrong with you people, anyway?

Yer killin' me, Tom