diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/util/libc.py b/lib/spack/spack/util/libc.py
index bcfbbec646a..402bf6f2444 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/util/libc.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/util/libc.py
@@ -128,9 +128,9 @@ def startfile_prefix(prefix: str, compatible_with: str = sys.executable) -> Opti
     except Exception:
         accept = lambda path: True
 
-    queue = [(0, prefix)]
-    while queue:
-        depth, path = queue.pop()
+    stack = [(0, prefix)]
+    while stack:
+        depth, path = stack.pop()
         try:
             iterator = os.scandir(path)
         except OSError:
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def startfile_prefix(prefix: str, compatible_with: str = sys.executable) -> Opti
                 try:
                     if entry.is_dir(follow_symlinks=True):
                         if depth < 2:
-                            queue.append((depth + 1, entry.path))
+                            stack.append((depth + 1, entry.path))
                     elif entry.name == "crt1.o" and accept(entry.path):
                         return path
                 except Exception:
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/util/spack_yaml.py b/lib/spack/spack/util/spack_yaml.py
index 04f88faafaa..b3326d29591 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/util/spack_yaml.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/util/spack_yaml.py
@@ -497,10 +497,10 @@ def anchorify(data: Union[dict, list], identifier: Callable[[Any], str] = repr)
     """Replace identical dict/list branches in tree with references to earlier instances. The YAML
     serializer generate anchors for them, resulting in small yaml files."""
     anchors: Dict[str, Union[dict, list]] = {}
-    queue: List[Union[dict, list]] = [data]
+    stack: List[Union[dict, list]] = [data]
 
-    while queue:
-        item = queue.pop()
+    while stack:
+        item = stack.pop()
 
         for key, value in item.items() if isinstance(item, dict) else enumerate(item):
             if not isinstance(value, (dict, list)):
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ def anchorify(data: Union[dict, list], identifier: Callable[[Any], str] = repr)
 
             if anchor is None:
                 anchors[id] = value
-                queue.append(value)
+                stack.append(value)
             else:
                 item[key] = anchor  # replace with reference