About the Setter
David Stickley has been writing crosswords professionally since 1995. His cryptic puzzle, The Stickler, reached number 4786 before being axed in July 2013 due to cutbacks. In 2024 David and his wife Linda secured a weekly cryptic and quick slot in The SMH and The Age. David has also been published in the NYT, the UK's FT and Church Times.-

Support the Future of The Stickler
Stickler Boxed Sets now available. Find out more
Stickler Cap now available. Find out more
Category Archives: The Stickler
The Stickler Weekly 14 Clue Hints
If you need help, Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler
Tagged clue hints, crosswords, cryptic, stickler
Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 14 Clue Hints
The Stickler Weekly 14 Overseas Help
If you need help, Continue reading
The Stickler Weekly 13 Solution
I had a number of people ask me about clues from The Stickler Weekly 12, namely 4-down, “One who’s keen to take a break? (6)”, and 11-down, “Handy communicator? (6)”. They quite rightly pointed out that this type of clue … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Solutions, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 13 Solution
The Stickler Weekly 13
The Stickler for this week is now available. Please select your preferred solving format. The solution to this puzzle will appear next week. Clue Hints for The Stickler Weekly 13 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 13 Solution … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
3 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 13 Clue Hints
If you need help, Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler
Tagged clue hints, crosswords, cryptic, stickler
3 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 13 Overseas Help
If you need help, Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler
Tagged crosswords, cryptic, stickler
Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 13 Overseas Help
The Stickler Weekly 12 Solution
There are always elements found in cryptic crosswords that may cause division among setters and solvers: cryptic definitions, the use of extraneous words, subtraction techniques, the importance of surface meaning to name just a few. This crossword contained a contentious … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Solutions, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 12 Solution
Stickler Boxed Set 1 Now Available
Hi Puzzlers, There were many requests for a book of puzzles at the time The Stickler was axed from The Daily Telegraph. A number of people stated that they were late in discovering the puzzle, so they would be interested … Continue reading
The Stickler Weekly 12
The Stickler for this week is now available. Please select your preferred solving format. The solution to this puzzle will appear next week. Clue Hints for The Stickler Weekly 12 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 12 Solution … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
4 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 12 Clue Hints
If you need help, Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler
Tagged clue hints, crosswords, cryptic, stickler
3 Comments