Grown-up spelling whizzes are putting the “bee” in bar game — and beer and booze!
Win some serious word nerd bragging rights at The Williamsburg Spelling Bee, a goofy-meets-brainy twist on the sweat-inducing grade-school competition.
Orthography-loving bar-goers can compete in three rounds that grow increasingly difficult as contestants grow increasingly tipsy.
“We start off with ‘broccoli’ or ‘carburetor’ and by the end it’s words you’ve never heard,” said host Jennifer Dziura, a comedian.
Dziura said pop intellectuals and hardcore English language buffs — including magazine editors, senior citizens and even brave dyslexics — get three strikes per contest, which includes “beer breaks” in the back room of Pete’s Candy Store.
Past winners have spelled malmignatte, degringolaide and mustelidae correctly — and if you can guess which one of those words spelled wrong in this article, The Brooklyn Paper solutes you.
The last person standing wins a scrabble-themed prize and a shot at the annual spelling finals — which promises to be much more fun than a case of Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis!
“It’s a nerd pride thing,” Dziura said.
“The Williamsburg Spelling Bee” at Pete’s Candy Store [709 Lorimer St. at Richardson Street in Williamsburg, (718) 302–3770, www.petescandystore.com], June 4 at 7 pm. Free.
Reach reporter Natalie O'Neill at noneill@cnglocal.com or by calling her at (718) 260-4505.
