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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Example Sentences
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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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The only way to understand the thought process of the most prominent founders is to inhabit that dilemma.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Fortunately, this is a dilemma with several solutions.—
Kat Boogaard,
CNBC,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The work chronicles Pan Am’s predicament during the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the flying boat service the carrier had in the Pacific.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The city’s current trash predicament traces back to Measure B, a city ballot measure passed in 2022 that ended the decades-long practice of San Diego providing free trash service to single-family homes and many small townhome and apartment complexes.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
It’s all put Indiana into a rather unique pickle.—
Dana O'Neil,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The popular pickle sandwich is coming back to Jimmy John’s, and with more options.—
Helena Wegner,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The lore behind one of Louisville's favorite hole in the wall restaurants begins with a gift.—
Amanda Hancock,
Louisville Courier Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Although the brain itself has no pain receptors, Bacon was given local anesthetic to numb her scalp and skull, as doctors made holes half the size of a small coin in her skull and implanted the stimulating electrodes inside.—
Elmira Aliieva,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Similarly to Young in Week 2 against Arizona, Dalton’s giveaways put the Panthers in a bind early.—
DIAMOND VENCES,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Oct. 2025
-
That could leave Colorado in a bind this winter.—
Mead Gruver,
Denver Post,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This is a beautiful week to plan a trip, take a course, or follow a philosophical rabbit hole that intrigues you.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The show stars Robinson as a guy who gets drawn into a rabbit hole after a workplace mishap.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The land was also covered by swamps and ponds, where animals lived, including deer, ducks and hogs.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
-
My candidacy is a symbol of the end of the weak-kneed, feckless Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell, and the spineless swamp jellyfish that are in the United States Senate representing the Republicans.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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