A person who insists on careful attention to rules or details; someone very particular about how things should be done.
From 'stickle' (to mediate or stand firm), possibly from Old English 'stician' (to stick). A stickler originally meant an umpire or referee, then evolved to mean someone rigid about rules.
Sticklers are often annoying, but they've driven human progress—grammar sticklers created standardized writing, math sticklers caught bridges that would have collapsed, and music sticklers preserved classical knowledge.
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