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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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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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,
6 Jan. 2026
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Rodríguez’s dilemma is compounded by the collapse of traditional military command.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This year, however, my predicament has grown more urgent.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Owner’s Jail, to put it nicely, is the predicament of NFL fans whose team is owned by someone whose stewardship does not inspire great optimism.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
UConn fan Bryan Penfield challenged fans to drink the pickle juice-electrolyte drink and make a donation to the Husky Ticket Project.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Its love interest is a pickle salesman—utterly charming!—
Sara Krolewski,
The Atlantic,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His absence left yet another hole in the quartet featuring him, Ball, Knueppel and Bridges.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Plunging directly in the frigid lake via holes carved in the ice.—
Julia Sayers Gokhale,
Midwest Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The lack of balance put the Panthers in a bind on early downs, as Young had to carry the offense instead of guiding it in the rain.—
Mike Kaye
Updated January 3,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Those conditions have put the Fed in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
23 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The Wolverine went down a rabbit hole.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
-
That recommendation algorithm, as my reporting and other people’s reporting has shown over the years, brings people into—people call it the rabbit hole, right?—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
More is at stake than preserving the singular beauty of the sawgrass prairies of Everglades National Park or cypress swamps of the Big Cypress National Preserve.—
Amy Green,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
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Trump and his supporters have worn his legal attacks as a badge of honor, taking them as proof that an insidious swamp has conspired against him.—
Brandon Rottinghaus,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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