stick-in-the-mud

noun

ˈstik-ən-t͟hə-ˌməd 

informal

: one who is slow, old-fashioned, or unprogressive

especially : an old fogy

Synonyms of stick-in-the-mud

• conservative
• veteran
• fogy
• fossil

Examples of stick-in-the-mud in a Sentence

the committee is dominated by old stick-in-the-muds who have little interest in bringing new ideas to the table

Recent Examples on the Web

One only has to think about the British fight against Nazism to be reminded that it was made of imperialists, constitutionalists, stick-in-the-mud aristocrats, and the socialists who first helped put Winston Churchill into power and then five years later helped push him out again. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

But opposing him is Stagg, a Scottish, stick-in-the-mud academic (which is saying a lot by most weather men’s personality standards), who insists on making the team’s joint recommendation exclusively using the current observational data available to Allied forces. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026

Bostwick starred as the naive stick-in-the-mud and fiancé of Janice, Brad. —Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

In the Herbert Ross film, Bacon played big-city teen Ren McCormack, who moves to the small town of Bomont, where its stick-in-the-mud local minster, the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), has instituted a ban on dancing. —EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023

David Corenswet plays, quite literally, a stick-in-the-mud character. —Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stick-in-the-mud

noun

ˈstik-ən-t͟hə-ˌməd

: one who is slow, old-fashioned, or unprogressive