as in dilemma
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
with both sets of in-laws insisting that we spend Thanksgiving with them, we were on a sticky wicket indeed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sticky wicket
Of philosophy’s many sticky wickets, consciousness is perhaps the most perplexing.
—
Kevin Dickinson,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
To that, timestamps may prove a sticky wicket for a part of Baldoni’s argument against the Times.
—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2025
The other sticky wicket in the Paramount-Skydance merger is Trump’s current lawsuit against CBS News.
—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2025
That third spot is a sticky wicket for a team projected to be just outside the top five in the game.
—
Eno Sarris,
The Athletic,
7 Jan. 2025
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK published 18 September 2024
A cricketing powerhouse for decades, Pakistan's national team have suddenly found themselves on a sticky wicket.
—
Harriet Marsden,
theweek,
18 Sep. 2024
Much of its lexicon sounds both unapproachable and, well, just weird: sticky wicket, googly, yorker, jaffa, daisy cutter, silly mid off, maiden over, tickle, nurdle, trundler, paddle scoop, popping crease, golden duck.
—
Chris Heath,
The Atlantic,
25 July 2024
While reforms have been proposed in the past under other leaders, they have gotten caught up in a sticky wicket of state bureaucracy.
—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
20 June 2024
The situation is a sticky wicket, to use an old-fashioned term from the sport of cricket, for the countless interest groups that depend on money from the budget.
—
Dan Walters,
The Mercury News,
4 May 2024
Kevin Dickinson,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
To that, timestamps may prove a sticky wicket for a part of Baldoni’s argument against the Times.
—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2025
The other sticky wicket in the Paramount-Skydance merger is Trump’s current lawsuit against CBS News.
—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2025
That third spot is a sticky wicket for a team projected to be just outside the top five in the game.
—
Eno Sarris,
The Athletic,
7 Jan. 2025
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK published 18 September 2024
A cricketing powerhouse for decades, Pakistan's national team have suddenly found themselves on a sticky wicket.
—
Harriet Marsden,
theweek,
18 Sep. 2024
Much of its lexicon sounds both unapproachable and, well, just weird: sticky wicket, googly, yorker, jaffa, daisy cutter, silly mid off, maiden over, tickle, nurdle, trundler, paddle scoop, popping crease, golden duck.
—
Chris Heath,
The Atlantic,
25 July 2024
While reforms have been proposed in the past under other leaders, they have gotten caught up in a sticky wicket of state bureaucracy.
—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
20 June 2024
The situation is a sticky wicket, to use an old-fashioned term from the sport of cricket, for the countless interest groups that depend on money from the budget.
—
Dan Walters,
The Mercury News,
4 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticky wicket
Noun
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Perhaps every story in which the characters are fundamentally unable to change their lives is subject to this same dilemma.
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Casa Amor, as a concept, is traditionally structured like a prisoner’s dilemma, with neither the main villa nor Casa Islanders aware of what their counterparts are doing while they’re separated.
Noun
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The upshot of Yale’s report, which is by far the most self-critical of the three, is that administrators bear much of the responsibility for higher education’s current predicament.
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What to read next Once the initial excitement of weightlessness has worn off, the kids realize the true extent of their predicament.
Noun
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Your leaf feeding, and eventually fruit feeding, pests are almost certain to be pickle or melon worms.
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Both point out that pickle juice is high in sodium; infrequently or in small doses, that’s fine, but if consumed excessively, pickle juice can pretty quickly put you beyond the daily amount of sodium health experts recommend that people consume.
Noun
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The crash also resulted in a large hole in the side of the vessel.
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The piece has seven holes for customization, and it’s designed to be worn at the hips or waist.
Noun
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Each of those cases put the council in a bind.
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But facing an already high rate of inflation, the Fed is in a bind, said Cutsinger of FAU.
Noun
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Eventually, a rabbit hole will clog with documents.
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Chris is a freelance journalist who, when not writing or falling further down the Lego rabbit hole, indulges his taste for horror, sci-fi and the post-apocalyptic.
Noun
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Air quality officials also recommend using an air purifier if available and avoiding the use of whole-house fans or swamp coolers that can draw outdoor air inside.
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For millions of years between 350 and 280 million years ago (about 30 million years before the first dinosaurs), these croc-like animals ruled the rivers, swamps, and lakes of the ancient world.
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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