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
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
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
-
In his second term, states’ rights, once a rallying cry for conservatives, are under pressure.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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The current round of liberal hand-wringing about how conservatives have become far better at driving the political conversation stems in large part from Kirk.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Its proposals to support grocery stores in stocking more produce, introduce markets to food deserts, serve healthy meals to students and veterans, and limit junk-food ads targeted at children all sound promising, but the report offers few specifics on implementation.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
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According to a statement from the North Little Rock police Department, Norman, a 27-year veteran of the department, was charged with one count of domestic battery in the third degree.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
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These are people who know AI and have grown up with this stuff that these old fogies haven't.—
Alison Snyder,
Axios,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Brown started by studying CT scans of a young Corythosaurus skull, which captured the fossil’s inner airways in fine detail.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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And the proof was found in the fossils.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stick-in-the-mud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stick-in-the-mud. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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