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
-
For mid-market companies, this shift presents a dilemma.—
Richard Ricks,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Wrestling over a decade with those rich character dilemmas got Vanderbilt an incredible roster of actors who here work at the height of their game.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Talking about his predicament in a shaded wedge of grass near the center of Harvard Yard, Sial speaks with a mixture of passion, frustration and weariness, pushing back the shaggy hair that frequently falls over his eyes.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
-
All of that resonates with the predicament of Lily Bart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Not all that long ago Cadillac was in a pickle.—
Scotty Reiss,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Dill is an easy herb to grow and its unique anise flavor complements salads and meats and adds tang to a jar of pickles.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As the Republican candidate stood on the fifth-hole putting green, a Secret Service agent was riding a golf cart in a security sweep of the sixth hole and noticed someone hiding behind a chain-link fence in the southeast corner of the course.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Untangle the roots and spread them out in their planting holes.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Schubkegel said her own decision to leave the workforce put her family in a financial bind.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
-
The flag movement has put the government in an awkward bind.—
Olivia Kemp,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Based on the Pennsylvania haunting of the Smurl family, the film sent him down a research rabbit hole to find out all about the Warrens – a fascination that eventually turned into a hugely successful horror-movie universe.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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But there’s something about politics that gets me in a rabbit hole.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The time a manager locked the front door at a sprint lest a tour bus swamp us a minute before closing.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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On the coast, there is a swampy coastal plain with mangrove swamps.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sticky wicket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sticky%20wicket. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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