English’s hybrid history, silent letters and overcomplicated rules are what make the competition fierce. By Nitsuh Abebe They happen every spring: the thrilling final rounds of the Scripps Spelling ...

Take a look at the following English words: butcher, squirrel, mortgage, and choir. Does something seem off about them? At one point in time, the words move and love rhymed. So did blood, good, and ...

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is underway this week in Maryland, with contestants tackling words like cynosure, grobian and scrunchie. And that got some of us wondering... Why are spelling bees ...