That was the word which broke a four-way tie in the year 5 and 6 Otago Daily Times Extra! spelling quiz in Dunedin last night.
The Tahuna Intermediate school hall was packed with more than 150 pupils from 27 Dunedin schools who had to spell words such as "conservation" and "intervening", for a chance at success.
George Street Normal team 4 came out on top with an impressive 96 points out of 100.
Teammates Boen Deng, Oscar McGuire and Aria Nader-Turner said it was the "all or nothing" section, and in particular the word "cycleway", which stood between them and a perfect score, proving even 10-year-olds find the concept controversial.
After only two practice sessions together, the trio beat 54 teams, walking away with medals, certificates and book vouchers.
Quiz organiser Ivan Behrnes said the calibre of pupils taking part was high.
"I've never, ever in all the years of staging spelling quizzes, had four teams locked at first.
"It's very impressive, and they had difficult words to spell."
Tied for second place were Rotary Park, Maori Hill School 1 and Andersons Bay 1.
The process was repeated soon after for 67 year 7 and 8 teams.
Tahuna Intermediate 7 took the top prize with a score of 95 points.
When asked what the best part of winning was, team-mates Mackenzie Gibson and Lydia Anderson said it was the surprise of the win.
"We didn't expect it at all," Mackenzie said.
However, teammate Cameron Meredith disagreed, saying with a smile, "Actually, I totally expected it".
Second place went to Tahuna 6, with Balmacewen, Tahuna 10, John McGlashan and Dunedin North Intermediate all tied for third.
