as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas
the committee is dominated by old stick-in-the-muds who have little interest in bringing new ideas to the table
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Recent Examples of stick-in-the-mud
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stick-in-the-mud
Noun
-
Six Supreme Court justices were there—only the conservatives.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
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But other conservatives, including Senator Ted Cruz, objected to the heavy hand of government approach.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Patriots had a busy offseason, adding top free agents wide receiver Romeo Doubs, safety Kevin Byard, edge defender Dre’Mont Jones and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, among other veterans.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
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And didn’t veteran NFL draft analysts such as the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, the former Eagles, Ravens and Browns scout from El Cajon, and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler place Simpson at 37th and 41st on their top-50 lists?—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2026
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For the benefit of us old fogies?—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Finding Something That Generally Doesn’t Fossilize Octopuses are notoriously difficult to study in the fossil record because their bodies are almost entirely soft tissue.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2026
-
So a creature like an octopus — which is made up of almost entirely soft tissue — has been harder to come by in the fossil record.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stick-in-the-mud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stick-in-the-mud. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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