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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To get the Benny Blanco drink, customers could add cherry flavor and pickles.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
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Then she’s trapped by aisles on all sides, boxed in by shelf after shelf of pickles.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
3 Nov. 2025
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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The following is a breakdown of those questions and others, and the key personnel dilemmas that remain unsolved as the World Cup nears.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Pakistan Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said his nation was hoping for more of a consensus going into Tuesday’s vote given the funding predicaments and operational issues that have dogged the MSS.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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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
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 agency said rising water levels in rivers, gullies and swamps may push the reptiles into residential areas in search of dry ground.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
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The land was also covered by swamps and ponds, where animals lived, including deer, ducks and hogs.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wickets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wickets. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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