“Stygian” means having the characteristics of death, but the word kept a lawmaker alive in a spelling competition Wednesday night.
Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., D-Va., got it correct to move on to the final round of the National Press Club’s Press & Politicians Spelling Bee, where he squared off against Jessica Mendoza, a podcast co-host at The Wall Street Journal.
Mendoza spelled “caryatid” right, while Beyer missed “espalier” to start the round. But then Mendoza stumbled on “trichinosis,” knocking her out of the contest altogether and leaving Beyer as the last speller standing.
