Minnesota Edition word list

A Minnesota city northwest of Minneapolis that promotes itself as the Halloween Capital of the World.

“Nobody expected Anoka to become the most memorable word of the Minnesota round.”

A drill used to bore holes through lake ice.

“The auger died mid-hole, so now it is a chisel situation.”

The northern lights glowing in the night sky.

“The aurora showed up and everyone's phone camera failed it.”

A northern Minnesota city with a giant Paul Bunyan statue.

“Paul Bunyan watched you spell Bemidji and looked away.”

A severe snowstorm.

“The blizzard closed everything but work.”

A city south of Minneapolis, best known as the home of the Mall of America.

“At the Minnesota round, Bloomington came up and everyone immediately had an opinion.”

A large outdoor fire.

“The bonfire stories get taller every summer.”

A central Minnesota city in the lakes region along the Mississippi River.

“The Minnesota round moved on, but people were still whispering the letters in Brainerd.”

A seasoned sausage grilled at cookouts and games.

“He dropped his bratwurst in the lake and considered diving.”

A small house, often at a lake in the woods.

“We are going up to the cabin, which explains everything.”

An outdoor fire at a campsite.

“The campfire heard some spelling tonight it can never unhear.”

A dish cooked slowly in the oven.

“Bring a casserole or do not come.”

A suburb southwest of Minneapolis where Prince built Paisley Park.

“Prince could have spelled Chanhassen backward in heels.”

A city southwest of Minneapolis in the Minnesota River Valley.

“The group had heard Chaska before the Minnesota round, but nobody trusted the spelling.”

A lake country county north of the Twin Cities.

“Chisago is pronounced nothing like it looks, which is very Minnesota.”

A northeastern Minnesota city west of Duluth, near the Fond du Lac Reservation.

“The word Cloquet sparked the longest debate of the Minnesota round.”

A popular panfish caught through the ice.

“Say crappie carefully at a family party.”

A platform extending over the water for boats.

“Somebody's uncle falls off the dock every Fourth of July.”

A port city on Lake Superior.

“Duluth was somehow colder.”

A Twin Cities suburb in Dakota County, south of Saint Paul.

“At the Minnesota round, Eagan came up and everyone immediately had an opinion.”

An affluent suburb of Minneapolis.

“Nobody from Edina has ever merged politely and you know it.”

A homely freshwater cod also called burbot.

“The eelpout festival celebrates a fish only a mother could love.”

A northern Minnesota city known as a gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

“Nobody in the Minnesota round questioned the meaning of Ely; the letters were the problem.”

A city on Lake Minnetonka in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area.

“By the end of the Minnesota round, Excelsior was still the word people were debating.”

A historic town south of the Twin Cities.

“Faribault is French, which is why your spelling just got audited.”

A soft woven fabric worn in cold weather.

“His flannel has seen more fish than his boat has.”

A burrowing rodent and Minnesota's mascot.

“The gopher wins more spelling bees than football games.”

A name used for several Minneapolis landmarks, including Lake Hiawatha and Hiawatha Avenue.

“The host repeated Hiawatha twice in the Minnesota round before anyone wanted to go first.”

An Iron Range town, hometown of Bob Dylan.

“He spelled Hibbing wrong and the times they are not changing.”

A baked casserole served at gatherings.

“Someone brought a hotdish, obviously.”

A hanging spike of frozen dripping water.

“That icicle over the door is basically a booby trap.”

A lake in Voyageurs National Park.

“He can navigate Kabetogama by moonlight but not by letter.”

A lake-filled county in west-central Minnesota.

“He confidently began Kandiyohi with a C. Moment of silence.”

A Minneapolis trail and corridor.

“Traffic near Kenilworth is a nightmare.”

A northern Minnesota county along the Canadian border, with International Falls as its county seat.

“When Koochiching appeared, the Minnesota round got noticeably louder.”

A thin rolled Norwegian waffle cookie.

“The krumkake iron comes out once a year, along with the drama.”

A soft Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes.

“Grandma's lefse recipe is guarded better than the score sheet.”

A diving bird with a haunting call, Minnesota's state bird.

“The loon laughed at your spelling from across the lake.”

Dried fish treated with lye.

“Nobody actually wants the lutefisk.”

A northwestern Minnesota city and county located within the White Earth Reservation.

“By the end of the Minnesota round, Mahnomen was still the word people were debating.”

A lakeside town east of St. Paul.

“He has lived in Mahtomedi for a decade and still guessed.”

A city in southern Minnesota on the Minnesota River.

“Half the room just spelled Mankato with two Os in a row.”

A suburb of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

“The word Maplewood sparked the longest debate of the Minnesota round.”

Minnesota's largest city and one half of the Twin Cities.

“The group had heard Minneapolis before the Minnesota round, but nobody trusted the spelling.”

A famous waterfall and creek.

“We walked to Minnehaha Falls.”

A person from Minnesota or something associated with the state.

“As soon as Minnesotan appeared in the Minnesota round, everyone started silently counting letters.”

A large lake and city west of Minneapolis.

“Everyone on Minnetonka has a boat payment and an opinion.”

A glove with one section for all four fingers.

“He lost one mitten in October like everyone else.”

A large, hard-to-catch pike fish.

“He has ten thousand casts and zero muskie to show for it.”

A community in northwestern Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation.

“Naytahwaush turned the Minnesota round into an unexpectedly competitive spelling moment.”

A Minneapolis lake named from the Song of Hiawatha.

“He jogs around Nokomis daily and just spelled it with a C.”

A southern Minnesota city known for Carleton College and St. Olaf College.

“Everyone in the Minnesota round knew Northfield, but spelling it aloud was another story.”

A city in southern Minnesota on the Straight River.

“Owatonna has two double letters and he found neither.”

A warm hooded winter coat.

“Her parka has survived forty winters and one bonfire.”

A flat boat on floats used for cruising lakes.

“The pontoon does five miles per hour and everyone is thrilled.”

Carrying a canoe overland between lakes.

“The portage was only forty rods but he complained for forty minutes.”

A southeastern Minnesota city best known as the home of Mayo Clinic.

“The Minnesota round paused for a second when Rochester showed up.”

A rich Norwegian sour cream porridge.

“One bowl of rommegrot equals one immediate nap.”

Also accepted: rømmegrøt

A suburb located between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

“Nobody in the Minnesota round questioned the meaning of Roseville; the letters were the problem.”

A heated room used for sweating and relaxing.

“The sauna argument ends when Grandpa throws more water on.”

A city southwest of the Twin Cities.

“You rode every ride in Shakopee but cannot spell the exit sign.”

Partly melted snow.

“April is just slush with a positive attitude.”

A buffet with many different dishes.

“The church smorgasbord had seven gelatin salads and no survivors.”

A northerner who winters somewhere warm.

“Every snowbird texts a beach photo during the first storm.”

A motorized vehicle for snow.

“The snowmobile broke through the ice.”

A vehicle that clears snow from roads.

“The snowplow buried his car and his weekend plans.”

A broad frame worn under the foot to help a person walk over deep snow.

“They brought up snowshoe during the Minnesota round.”

A historic river town on the St. Croix.

“Stillwater is where every couple takes the same fall photo.”

The evening meal.

“Supper is at five, dontcha be late.”

A northern larch tree that drops its needles in fall.

“The tamarack turns gold right before everything turns white.”

A Minnesota state park on the North Shore of Lake Superior known for cliffs, waterfalls, and hiking.

“The Minnesota round group recognized Tettegouche, then started arguing about which letters came next.”

A long sled without runners.

“The toboggan hit a tree.”

An exclamation of mild dismay.

“Uffda, that word was rough.”

A Mississippi River town famous for eagles and grumpy old men.

“The eagles above Wabasha spell better than this room.”

A small city in southeastern Minnesota near Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River.

“The word Wacouta sparked the longest debate of the Minnesota round.”

The state fish.

“He caught one walleye all summer.”

A lakeside Minnesota city.

“Nobody spells Wayzata right the first time.”

How cold the air feels with the wind factored in.

“The windchill is minus forty and school is merely delayed.”

A huge lake in north-central Minnesota.

“Nobody has ever spelled Winnibigoshish right on the first try, ever.”

A Mississippi River town in southeastern Minnesota.

“Winona is lovely, unlike what he just did to its spelling.”