Nine letter word for brain teaser

During my last stint living at home, my parents did paper routes and routinely had several extra copies of the newspaper laying around. So, we'd each take a copy and work on the day's crossword puzzle. Mondays and Tuesdays, we could usually do individually, but by Thursday, it definitely became more of a cooperative effort. But it was always fun, and a shared experience that we bonded over. 

So you can imagine that it was a bit nostalgic when I wandered through the break room at work one day to find some staff members working on the day's crossword puzzle. I told my little tale of crossword togetherness, maybe helped with a phrase or two, and went on my way. But my little contributions here and there were enough to get an invite to the club. 

I now have copies of the crosswords on my desk when I arrive, and I know that around 11:00, there will be a crossword puzzle break going on. We brainstorm and swap answers and have that shared moment of crossword culture (it really is a culture. You pick up on trends, and groan at the awful puns in the clues and answers, and protest at bad clues). We each have our area of expertise, and I finally have people who can help me answer all the alcohol questions!* And I've only ever googled a clue once, (for a Friday puzzle) so we are pretty darn smart as a collective. 

I am the young'un of the group, so I'm always pretty pleased when I can hold my own. Not that it is really competitive, but I do like to see that despite my limited experience, I do alright. Mostly, I just enjoy the groupie-ness. It's funny, because we are all fairly different. Different ages, different backgrounds, etc. But there we are: the crossword puzzle crowd. It's the crossword puzzle bond, at it again. 

*I don't drink, so I never know the wine and booze clues. I have to fill them in by getting the other answers.

**Even when I google answers, I never use the cheater websites that say "crossword clue" in them. I always go to the source. So, I don't consider it cheating. I work for my answers.