The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
STICKLE
Definition of STICKLE
noun
A sharp point; prickle; a spine
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English *stikel, *stykyl (in compounds), from Old English sticel (“a prickle, sting, goad”), from Proto-Germanic *stiklaz, *stikilaz (“sting, stinger, peak, cup, goblet”), related to the verb *stikaną (“to stick”). Cognate with Dutch stekel, Icelandic stikill, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌺𐌻𐍃 (stikls) (whence Russian стекло́ (stekló, “glass”), Polish szkło (“glass”), Lithuanian sti̇̀klas, Romanian sticlă).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
7th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
3.3%
of traced words share this origin (980)
branch · 22.3% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, STICKLE · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, Icelandic, Polish, Romanian, Russian.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
STICKLE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 20 boards so far. 23 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 54, 13 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 149, 16 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 74, 2 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
STICKLE starts with S and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read CEIKLST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
2 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start STICKL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 54
Could you have found STICKLE?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 54 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER