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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True moral dilemmas, which become tangled in ways that seem impossible to unravel, with his private life.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
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The author recalled having a nightmare about his own family and unconsciously tapping into his personal dilemmas, which provided the basis for the book by the time the sun rose.—
Julie Tremaine,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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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Despite what many baseball fans think, the Dodgers do have holes to fill in their lineup.—
Drew VonScio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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The ozone layer has historically provided a critical defense between the potentially harmful rays of the sun and the people who live on the Earth’s surface, but climate change has served to weaken it, even causing holes within it in certain areas.—
William Jones,
Ascend Agency,
11 Nov. 2025
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 15 Nov. 2025.
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