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
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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
-
The Sox faced an interesting dilemma in the 11th inning on Saturday.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
-
That’s Duncan’s dilemma from the very beginning of this fitfully hilarious episode of The Audacity.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
After realizing their predicament, the couple was forced to swim to a buoy about a mile from shore.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The inward-looking nature of the melancholy Dane — conflicted and cocooned in his thoughts, paralyzed by his own intelligence, while the world constantly reflects back to him his own psychological predicament — feels oddly suited for our solipsistic times.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And at least one pickle pope blessing people with herbs.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Chicken wings brined in salt and pickle juice, as well as salads, will also appear on the menu.—
Jenna Thompson
April 10,
Kansas City Star,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Round pegs found round holes all over the pitch.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
To make your yard appealing to a wide variety of bees, install several bee houses with nesting holes of varying sizes.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Years of ignoring improper payments while promoting more program enrollment at all costs have now put the Commonwealth’s taxpayers in a bind.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Duncan, along with Council Member Melissa Robinson, expressed concern that the funding could put the city in a financial bind later in the fiscal year.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Refreshing your outdoor living space or furnishing a new one, though, can lead you down a whole rabbit hole of options.—
Blake Bakkila,
Architectural Digest,
15 Apr. 2026
-
So let’s go down that (potential) recession rabbit hole.—
Jeff Lazerson,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That’s the headwaters of the swamp.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
It should have been called swamp or something like that…trench.—
Christine Terrisse,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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