WASHINGTON — Talmage Nakamoto, calm and businesslike, wasted no time yesterday at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

"N-o-n-c-h-a-l-a-n-t," he said, quickly and correctly spelling a word meaning a cool lack of concern, or casual indifference.

But a 25-word computer test proved his undoing. The seventh-grader at Konawaena Middle School on the Big Island did not advance to the quarterfinals.

He was among the 198 spellers knocked out of the competition yesterday based on their combined scores from a computer test and an oral round.

Ninety kids advanced to the next level.

Talmage, 13, took the loss in stride.

"It's been exciting," Talmage said as his older brother, Teagan, 15, gently teased him.

Talmage, who was sponsored by The Honolulu Advertiser, said waiting for the computer test results was the hard part.

"Some of them (the words) I knew. Some of them were obnoxious," he said.

For example, Talmage said he correctly spelled "cacoethes," which means an irresistible compulsion.

"I was really proud you got that," said his mother, Traci.

But he tripped on the word "nonpareil," a person or thing without equal.

Traci Nakamoto said the family considers the Washington trip a great opportunity to see the nation's capital and to meet other people.

Thanks to LAVA 105.3 FM, a Big Island radio station, the Nakamotos were able to bring Teagan and the couple's four other children along.

Yesterday, father Shan tended the younger children while Traci Nakamoto shepherded Talmage and Teagan.

Talmage said he might try to return to the national bee next year.

He made it to the 2008 competition after winning the state finals in March. The state victory followed his win at the Hawai'i Island district level, a competition that Teagan also won twice.

The national event is held in the cavernous ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Washington, five blocks east of the White House. Contestants range in age from 8 to 15 and include, for the first time, a second-grader, who was also eliminated in the preliminary round.

Aside from the United States, spellers come from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Korea. This is the first time a speller sponsored by a publication from Africa is in the bee.

Contact Ellyn Ferguson at eferguson@gns.gannett.com.