The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word SEVERE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
E
V
E
R
E
More clues leading to the result SEVERE
- Grim at all times in southeast
- Very harsh split ending in divorce
- Strict at all times in case of sabotage
- Strict member of the clergy turned up in diocese
- Hard to endure split, having touch of enmity
- Verse in translation, initially extremely hard
- Bad cut given by key
- Hard to translate verse? Easy at first
- Notice enshrining remarkably short grave
- Serious cut close to ankle
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "stern" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case stern = severe.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SEVERE mean?
SEVERE adjective- Very bad or intense.
- Strict or harsh.
- Sober, plain in appearance, austere.