Crossword Genius

The sticks, I suggest, to deliver (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hinterland

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the sticks' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'i suggest to deliver' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'i' could be 'a' and 'a' is found in the answer.
'suggest' could be 'hint' (synonyms) and 'hint' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hinterland that I've seen before include "Remote area of a country" , "Remote areas of a country" , "area around a port" , "Remote inland areas" , "remote country region" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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