Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists flex their knowledge quietly

OXON HILL, MD. (AP) — Confidence on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage manifests itself in subtle ways like spellers asking questions even though they know the answers

- Ben Nuckols

Dev Shah, one of 11 spellers who made it through Wednesday's semifinals and will return Thursday to compete for the winner's trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, was given the word "Perioeci" and quickly eliminated any suspense with his onstage banter.

"Does this come from the Greek 'peri,' meaning around?" Dev asked.

"Yes," said the Rev. Brian Sietsema, the bee's associate pronouncer.

Dev: "Does this come from the Greek 'oikos,' meaning house?"

Sietsema: "Yes." Asked, and answered. The finalists made their way unscathed through eight rounds — five spelling, three vocabulary — and Dev was one of a handful who never looked flustered.

The semifinals in particular were a triumph of efficiency for Scripps and its word selection panel, perhaps aided by a first-of-its-kind, pre-bee standardized test that allowed Scripps to assess the spellers' abilities. Of the 55 quarterfinalists, 33 were eliminated in the first spelling round of the semis. The word panel followed through on its plan to make the vocabulary questions more fair than last year's; only two were dinged on definitions. And then in the final spelling round of the semis, nine of the remaining 20 were misspelled.