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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Such local sites focus on a small group of people who happened to live in a certain place at a certain time—and who, for that fleeting moment, came to stand in for the dilemmas of the nation at large.—
Beverly Gage,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
-
For the present, we’re saddled with the unwieldy dilemma of there being eight major Democratic candidates and just two Republicans.—
George Skelton,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Baby boomers have been getting plenty of blame for this predicament in recent years, but some defenders say it’s not entirely warranted.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Companies like TikTok and Snap are in the same predicament.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Serve over rice with yogurt and achaar (or whatever pickle-y thing is around).—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Over the decades, children have given up everything from sunflower seeds to pickles.—
Elliot Mann,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Cut a piece of PVC piping slightly longer than the pot’s height, then drill holes 2 inches (5 centimeters) apart along its sides.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Residents in West Philadelphia are fed up with a massive hole in the middle of their street.—
Kerri Corrado,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Faced with the request to make a Martini that was simultaneously very cold and bracingly strong, legendary bartender Salvatore Calabrese was in a bind.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Which puts the Knicks in a bind.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Italian metal extremist has been going down a rabbit hole of his own with a series of highly technical I, Voidhanger releases marked by extraterrestrial synth work and winding, stop-on-a-dime riffs.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Sniff the magic poppers and fall down a rabbit hole.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
All seagrasses descend from a group of flowering plants that includes the arums and water plantains, many of which grow in swamps or along streams.—
David George Haskell,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
-
During a livestream of an airboat tour of a Florida swamp, Peters and a friend repeatedly fired handguns at an alligator.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
