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
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.
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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
What is a sticky wicket is when partner is subordinate to the other.
—Jenna Reyes, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Jan. 2023
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
What is a sticky wicket is when partner is subordinate to the other.
—Jenna Reyes, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticky wicket
Noun
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To its credit, Doc is more adept at crafting moral dilemmas that force its characters to reckon with the cost of saving one child at the expense of another’s health, or a patient’s right to know a secret that could destroy his family.Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2025
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The dilemma in attaining true freedom led them to pray, sing, shout, and embody the Holy Spirit for hours leading up to midnight on the first.Nyya Toussaint / Made by History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Donald Trump Taunts Panama: 'Welcome To The United States Canal' By David Faris Associate Professor, Roosevelt University 0 As the sun rises on 2025—at least in the parts of the country where there is January sunlight—America's basic predicament has become clearer.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
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Just Recorded One of the Largest In-Bounds Avalanches in Its History Extreme Skier Greg Hill Goes Deep on Risk and Adrenaline in His New Book The avalanche center’s decision to pull back from Seeley Lake is a result of the recent budget and staffing predicament within the National Forest Service.Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Stir thoroughly and garnish with celery, olives, or a pickle.Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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Then place any small dishes such as olives or pickles (see Accoutrements below) on the board first.Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Some of the walls were pocked with bullet holes, according to police.Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
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The Trojans have holes both at corner and safety after losing several veterans since the end of the regular season.Antonio Morales, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The fluid and fast-moving developments across Syria have put U.S. President Joe Biden's administration in yet another foreign policy bind just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
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Kramer’s flick acts more as a documentary than as a fiction in Ross’s hands, a documentary about the bind of acting when the face is so present, the horizon of meaning.Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Both DLCs offer up the same kind of cold dread that Alan Wake 2 offered and continue to showcase game creator and director Sam Lake’s exploration of what video games are capable of narratively and how far players are willing to follow him down the rabbit hole.Richard Newby, TIME, 5 Dec. 2024
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In the process, however, Julio tumbles down even more rabbit holes filled with unending bureaucratic obstacles.Samantha Allen, Them, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk ... think about it ...Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
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The satellite rolled into a swamp, whereupon it was nicknamed Kaputnik.Rebecca Coffey, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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 6 Jan. 2025.
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