Perhaps the question would begin, "Warning: Answer must be
spelled?" That way, you'd still need to have the knowledge to come
up with the answer, but you'd know you'd have to spell it.
Otherwise, you're right, that initial question is a brutal hose.
--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, starbug_56 <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:
> Yikes! Spelling tossups might be fun to resurrect in a specialty
format like the one
> proposed, but the example below is potentially an outright hose.
A more straightforward
> way to write it would be more along these lines (middle deleted
for brevity):
>
> "The Leviathan originated in Babylonian creation stories ... and
is the name of a famous
> work by Thomas Hobbes. FTP, spell "Leviathan"."
>
> Using the term promptly in the intro would clarify that this is a
spelling tossup, and not
> bait players to neg (or require prompting) by just
answering "Leviathan".
>
>
>
> >
> > For those of you who have never written a spelling tossup
before, it
> > goes something like:
> >
> > Originating in Babylonian creation stories, it occurs a section
of the
> > Baal myth, but also appears in Psalms 74:14 and Isaiah 27:1 as a
sea
> > monster symbolizing the enemies of Israel that will be slain by
God.
> > Also naming a famous work by Thomas Hobbes, FTP, spell the word
> > "Leviathan."
> > Answer: _L-E-V-I-A-T-H-A-N_
> >