Remember the old TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Here's a version of that high-stakes game based on your knowledge of spelling. As the show did, I'll provide you with three "lifelines" along the way.

Let's go! Select the CORRECTLY spelled word in each quartet:

$100 — A. begining B. recieve C. opening D. athelete

$200 — A. tommorrow B. calendar C. lonliness D. goverment

$300 — A. arguement B. acheive C. weird D. tradgedy

$500 — A. similar B. predjudice C. abundence D. persue

$1,000 — A. changable B. unnecesary C. discribe D. definite

$2,000 — A. differant B. acquaint C. occured D. seperate

$4,000 — A. roomate B. possess C. hankerchief D. enterring

$8,000 — A. interpertation B. enviorment C. competetive D. leisure

$16,000 — A. accommodate B. mischievious C. embarass D. vengance (Lifeline No. 1 — B and D are incorrect, so it's either A or C.

$32,000 — A. occurrence B. disasterous C. relevent D. villian

$64,000 — A. hinderance B. persistant C. panicing D. vacuum

$125,000 — A. irresistible B. desparate C. liason D. harrass (Lifeline No. 2 — We polled the audience, and they said: A. 34% B. 17% C. 18% D. 31%.

$250,000 — A. preferible B. preceed C. parallel D. anamoly

$500,000 — A. fullfill B. misspell C. quandry D. accordian (Lifeline No. 3 — You get to make a 30-second telephone call to your Uncle George: "Oh, gosh, this is a tough one. 'Quandry' looks funny. I think it could be 'accordian,' but, then again, 'misspell' looks good. I'm sorry I can't be more ..." Time's up!

$1,000,000 — A. impressario B. rhythym C. diptheria D. graffiti

Answers: $100 — C. opening (beginning, received, athlete) $200 — B. calendar (tomorrow, loneliness, government) $300 — C. weird (argument, achieve, tragedy) $500 — A. — similar (prejudice, abundance, pursue) $1,000 — D. definite (changeable, unnecessary, describe)

$2,000 — B. acquaint (different, occurred, separate) $4,000 — B. possess (roommate, handkerchief, entering) $8,000 — D. leisure (interpretation, environment, competitive) $16,000 — A. accommodate (mischievous, embarrass, vengeance) $32,000 — A. occurrence (disastrous, relevant, villain)

$64,000 — D. (hindrance, persistent, panicking) $125,000 — A. irresistible (desperate, liaison, harass) $250,000 — C. parallel (preferable, precede, anomaly) $500,000 — B. misspell (fulfill, quandary, accordion) $1,000,000 — D. graffiti (impresario, rhythm, diphtheria)

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

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