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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The Cubano is a fan favorite with braised pork and ham topped with Swiss, pickles, and mustard sauce on French bread.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Sep. 2025
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Other shelves are stocked with pickles from artisan makers hailing from all over the country.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The dilemmas of post-revolutionary life—in particular, the gap between fulsome propaganda and flawed realities—were efficiently captured, as usual, in the popular genre known as the anekdot.—
Benjamin Nathans
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
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In the plot, a fictional president of Italy faces moral and ethical dilemmas.—
Marcelo Cajueiro,
Variety,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Is River in desperate need of some R&R, or is everyone else projecting their own predicaments onto him?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 Sep. 2025
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Bolstered by its defensive line, Lawrence Academy (1-0) repeatedly forced Thayer’s Evriviades (9-15, 109 yards, INT) into difficult predicaments.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Another tool combines a Phillips and flathead screwdriver (via a flippable bit), a tungsten steel automotive glass-breaking stud, a nail puller, a rope cutter, plus 5- and 7-mm hex wrench holes.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
30 Sep. 2025
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But the unexpected interloper turns out not to be the last of the heist’s hiccups when new team recruit Zen (Rosa Salazar) plugs Parker’s crew full of bullet holes and makes off with the rest of the cash.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As their name suggests, annual killifish appear for a brief period of the year in floodplains, wetlands, swamps and other temporary aquatic environments.—
Lauren Liebhaber
September 23,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
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Cottonmouths can be found in aquatic and wetland areas like swamps, marshes, drainage ditches, ponds, lakes and streams.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Sprinting to the corners in transition as someone like Hart flies up the court with the basketball is one way to do that.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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The retailer also operates 80 shops-in-shop and close to 500 corners in Japan.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wickets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wickets. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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