Fairfax Spelling Champ Ousted in Bee Semis

Hunters Woods Elementary School student Jae Canetti's competitive journey through the English vocabulary ended in the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday.

During the second round of Thursday's semifinal, held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in Maryland, Canetti tripped up on the word "grundriss," a word of German origin defined as a comprehensive outline of a science. 

After pronounce Jacques Bailly read "grundriss," Canetti responded with, "Say wha?" He then asked Bailly for the word to be repeated several times then asked about its etymology and definition, a typical routine for the spellers.

Canetti misspelled the word as "gruntris." 

Unlike in earlier preliminary rounds, if you misspelled a word Thursday, you were eliminated from competition to the chime of a bell. At the sound of the bell, Canetti shrugged and smiled as he walked off the stage. The fourth-grader was the youngest contestant remaining at that point in the competition.

Semifinal rounds were televised live on ESPN2. The final rounds will be broadcast 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.