BRITISH WIN SPELLING BEE

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 April 1938, Page 9

BRITISH WIN SPELLING BEE

WORDS THAT BAFFLED WOMEN. LONDON, March 7. Britain won back the “Ashes” in the return Transatlantic Spelling Bee broadcast yesterday afternoon. In the first match Harvard beat Oxford by 28 points to 24; yesterday, when representative “eights” took part in a. return game, Britain beat America handsomely by 37 points to 27. In fact, some of the British team were so proficient that they rattled off the spelling like machine-gun fire. On the whole, this super-spelling and the general choice of words tended to make the Bee less amusing. Each team was composed on similar lines, and included an actress, a secretary, a broadcaster a business man, a schoolboy, a sportsman, a soldier, and a writer. Another reversal of form was that whereas in the last match the women came out best, this time the men showed themselves the better spellers. J. E. Killick, a sixth-form boy of Latymer Upper School, spelt every word correctly, equalling the performances of Mr Howard Marshall, Mr. Bernard Darwin, Mr. D. A. J. Buxton, a business man, and Sir John Squire. In the American team the two most successful spellers were Mr. Linton Wells, the broadcaster, and Mr. Carl Carmer, the writer.

ACTRESS DROPS AN “E.” America took a toss at the first fence when Miss Sara Haden, Broadway and Hollywood actress, spelt “verdancy” with a ”u” for the second letter. Britain lost her first point when Miss Fabia Drake, the actress, left out the second “e” in “aestheticism,” which, by the way, Miss Haden promptly corrected.

Both Lt.-Col. J. H. Gettins in the 8.8. C. studio and the representative of the United States services across Ihe Atlantic were “gouged” for spelling “eameraderie” incorrectly.' Lt.Col. Gettins left out some letters and his opposite number began with “c-o-m.” Miss Drake and Miss Haden were both wrong over “termagant.” The word was eventually spelt correctly by Miss Margaret Baynes, the secretary in the British team.

The word which gave the women players the most difficulty was “rhododendron.” Miss Drake wanted to have a final “in”; Miss Haden was "gouged” for ending with “en.” Miss Baynes made a false start with "r-h-h.” When “Antrum” .was put to Sir John Squire he asked “County or cavity?” and then responded promptly with the right spelling.