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
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Recent Examples of sticky wicket
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
In contrast, altering and editing an image can be a much more nuanced process that makes determining what part is from humans a sticky wicket.
—Drew McLellan, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
As with all questions of volcanic behaviour, the real sticky wicket is timing.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2023
Ant Group are currently on a sticky wicket.
—Prathamesh Mulye, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2021
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
In contrast, altering and editing an image can be a much more nuanced process that makes determining what part is from humans a sticky wicket.
—Drew McLellan, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
As with all questions of volcanic behaviour, the real sticky wicket is timing.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2023
Ant Group are currently on a sticky wicket.
—Prathamesh Mulye, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticky wicket
Noun
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See maps People donating to California wildfire victims face a dilemma: Leave a tip too?—
James Powel,
USA TODAY,
14 Jan. 2025
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Consider this dilemma: someone has an old home in a high-price area and is considering adding a bathroom to the home.—
Cicely Jones,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The confusion over Everton’s managerial situation has been unhelpful given the team’s predicament.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
-
The widespread indifference to the Uyghurs’ predicament exposes double standards, not only among today’s prevailing political ideologies, but also within the international politics of human rights.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Leftover charcuterie is a bit of a challenge, with items as diverse as fig jam or Jamón Ibérico and a vast spread of about six categories (carbs, meat, cheese, spreads, pickles, and nuts).—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Jan. 2025
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The restaurant serves chili on burgers — which come in single, double and triple patty options, each with tomatoes, pickles, onions and mustard.—
Heidi Finley,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Some holes can’t be filled, and no writer, no matter how skilled, can return their subject to anything truly resembling life.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2025
-
The pieces vary in size and shape; a few have small holes cut in them.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Bolsonaro believes Trump’s victory will put the present government in a bind.—
Armando Regil Velasco Fox News,
Fox News,
10 Jan. 2025
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The city put itself in a bind by increasing rank-and-file police officer wages without providing comparable increases to supervisory ranks, Vallelong said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Here are some of my favorite ways to avoid going down the rabbit hole.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
9 Jan. 2025
-
Ultimately, my journey down the rabbit hole of ostrich emissions convinced me that parsing the relative virtues of different types of meat might be beside the point.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The locations team was worried, however, that the swamp was too slippery for actors, crew and animals, its bed made up of mud and roots.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
20 Jan. 2025
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Jim Paladino, Tampa Start with the swamp The Sun Sentinel recently published a letter by Deb Tarrant of Hillsboro Beach that could have been written by Trump himself.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near sticky wicket
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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