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.-
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Tag Archives: cryptic crossword
The Stickler Weekly 63
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 63 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 63 Solution … Continue reading
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Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
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The Stickler Weekly 62 Solution
I think a cryptic clue is very much like an algebraic expression, where the wordplay is represented by the various symbols on one side of the equation that should equal an answer on the other side of the equation. It … Continue reading
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Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
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The Stickler Weekly 62
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 62 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 62 Solution … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
5 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 61 Solution
Exploitation. The job of a setter is all about exploitation. They exploit everything involved with crosswords, from language quirks, word classes, shapes of letters and things related to the orientation of answers in a grid and grid structure. They even … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Solutions, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
4 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 61
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 61 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 61 Solution … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
4 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 60 Solution
A couple of week’s ago a Stickler Weekly solver, Greg, noticed that my grid contained two clues that were fully checked, that is, the answers may be fully obtained from solving other answers potentially making the clues for these answers … Continue reading
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Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
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The Stickler Weekly 60
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 60 Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 60 Solution … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
2 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 59 Solution
A few weeks ago an avid solver pointed out an ambiguous clue in a Stickler Weekly. To be ambiguous two things must happen – first, there must be at least two answers to the clue that satisfy all the normal … Continue reading
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Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
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The Stickler Weekly 59
**** Crossword updated on 12/11, correcting mistake in 17-down **** 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 … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, online, printable, The Stickler
6 Comments
The Stickler Weekly 58 Solution
A few years ago I ran a number of community college courses on how to solve cryptic crosswords. Each course covered the whole term (2-hour sessions for 8 weeks) as I believe there’s a need to learn and do and … Continue reading
Posted in Stickler Weekly Solutions, The Stickler
Tagged cryptic crossword, solution, The Stickler
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