stick-in-the-mud

American  

[stik-in-thuh-muhd] / ˈstɪk ɪn ðəˌmʌd /

noun

1. someone who avoids new activities, ideas, or attitudes; old fogy.

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stick-in-the-mud British  

noun

1. informal a staid or predictably conservative person who lacks initiative or imagination

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Etymology

Origin of stick-in-the-mud

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

Like the husband is super funny and the wife is a stick-in-the-mud.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2022

There are some memorable supporting performances — notably from Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro and the always solid Jon Hamm, as a by-the-book, stick-in-the-mud admiral — but the world they inhabit is textureless and generic.

From New York Times • May 26, 2022

She arrives where some of internet’s earliest, stick-in-the-mud critics began, championing the worth of the unbroken story of one unique mind as a treasure the collective stream of consciousness can’t replace.

From Slate • Feb. 9, 2021

To Barfield’s credit, Vicky isn’t just a stick-in-the-mud and Erica isn’t always the spontaneous risk-taker.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2017

So for most of my freshman year, I remained a self-hating stick-in-the-mud.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi