as in pickles
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 wickets
Of philosophy’s many sticky wickets, consciousness is perhaps the most perplexing.
—
Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticky wickets
Noun
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Serve it with or without a bun plus your favorite toppings like pickles, slaw, and extra sauce.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
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Sook by Maydan is offering a $ 15-per-person Dine LA lunch menu with a choice of beef wrap or chicken shish taouk wrap, served with house pickles, labneh spread, and a farmers market side salad.—
Kaila Yu,
Forbes.com,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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At their best, superhero stories can be potent metaphors for tangible human dilemmas.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2026
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Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Rustin has slyly given her script a focus on women’s needs and feelings, a welcome departure for a genre that usually is more concerned about the men’s predicaments.—
Matthew J. Palm,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Jan. 2026
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Brooks’s screenplay makes ample space to dump praise upon its protagonist while bemoaning her many predicaments.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Officers saw multiple bullet holes on the metal fence dividing the properties and shell casings in his backyard, the affidavit said.—
Sofia Saric,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Add a pass rusher with the first pick, a receiver in Round 2 and then spend heavily on patching holes in free agency.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The crab-eating frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) lives in mangroves, coastal swamps and estuaries across Southeast Asia.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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The bald cypress is native to much of the Gulf Coast and across riverine swamps of the Deep South.—
Connor Giffin,
Louisville Courier Journal,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wickets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wickets. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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