Words to live by -- or not

clipped from writersalmanac.publicradio.org

Today, the winner of the 2005 National Spelling Bee turns 18. Anurag Kashyap, who was born in India and grew up in San Diego County, California, was in eighth grade when he correctly spelled "appoggiatura" (a musical term that means, according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, "an embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone and usually written as a note of smaller size") to clinch the national title. Winning words since then include ursprache (2006), serrefine (2007), and guerdon (2008). This year's winning word was Laodicean, a synonym for "lukewarm," especially applicable to religious matters.