Kids, good luck in the comórtas litrithe

Tomorrow marks the 15th annual North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene Press and hosted by North Idaho College.

This year, 42 children, fourth through eighth grade, from home schools, private and public schools, will try to spell their way to an all-expense paid trip to the National Spelling Bee, compliments of The Press. Accompanied by a parent or guardian, the winner will not only compete on the biggest spelling stage on the planet, but immerse herself or himself in civics, culture and history in our nation’s capital. Every speller has returned to North Idaho with wonderful experiences they say will last a lifetime.

Each of the kids who will compete on Saturday has worked exceedingly hard to reach this stage of the competition; we salute them all. And we admit that it’s hard to believe this is the 15th rendition of The Press and NIC putting on the show and paying the freight.

Unlike previous years, however, this year we’re giving the spellers two great hints right here to help them succeed.

Hint No. 1: The spelling list will be comprised entirely of Irish and Gaelic words. Yes, it’s St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!

Here are just a few of the words that will almost certainly be uttered by Joe Jacoby, the outstanding spelling bee pronouncer and NIC Theater director.

- adharca’ili’: To gore. In a sentence: “When Mr. Jacoby gave me that word, I felt like I’d been adharca’ili’ed!”

- botha’ntai’ocht: Calling on neighbors to catch up on gossip. In a sentence: “When Mr. Jacoby gave me that word, I gave up on the Bee and just went to both’ntai’ocht.”

- knackered: Exhausted. In a sentence: “When Mr. Jacoby gave me that word, I no longer felt knackered, like the poor kids who got the tough Gaelic words.”

- plobaireacht: This occurs when you’re crying and trying to speak at the same time but can’t make yourself clear. In a sentence: “When Mr. Jacoby gave me that word, yep: Plobaireacht.”

- divvy: Silly. In a sentence: “When Mr. Jacoby mispronounced that word, he felt divvy.”

And now, kids, Hint No. 2: Never trust a hint about March 17 from anybody named Patrick.

Spellers, ádh mór ort. Best of luck!