sticky wicket

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noun

Cricket. the area of ground around a wicket when it is tacky because of recent rain and therefore does not allow the ball to bounce well.

Chiefly British. a situation requiring delicate treatment; an awkward situation: In telling his wife that he has to be away for a month in Cannes, he'll be batting on a sticky wicket.

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Origin of sticky wicket

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby sticky wicket

sticky end, sticky-fingered, sticky fingers, Sticky Note, sticky rice, sticky wicket, sticky willie, stiction, Stiegel, Stieglitz, stiff

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sticky wicket in a sentence

Paddle8 already has a “sticky collector base who are addicted to the site,” he says.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty|Tim Teeman|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Empty cigarette packs, liquor bottles, containers sticky with food residue covered the floor.
Gary, Indiana Is a Serial Killer’s Playground|Justin Glawe|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is equally desirous of Levine, as animalistic and eager to consume him while sticky with sanguine fluid.
Sex, Blood and Maroon 5: Pop Culture’s Wounds Run Deep|Lizzie Crocker|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That was cold, and I was covered in sticky blood in winter in England, on a castle wall.
Life After Deaths: Sean Bean on 'Game of Thrones' Paternity and 'Legends'|Jason Lynch|August 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Each of them was coated in something resembling a gray, sticky batter.
Life Under Air Strikes: Children Under Fire Will Never Forget — or Forgive|Clive Irving|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It looked into a garden, whence a wicket-gate opened into a small paddock; all beyond was fine meadow-land and wood.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
How could this be done so that our clothing would be made water-tight and yet not be sticky in summer or stiff in winter?
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various
The sheets of rubber from which the uppers and soles are cut are at this stage of the work plastic and very sticky.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various
Those whose hoops had been knocked down assembled on one side, close to the side wicket.
Digby Heathcote|W.H.G. Kingston
Nothing more innocent-appearing yet more villainously sticky have I ever before encountered.
Mrs. Raffles|John Kendrick Bangs

British Dictionary definitions for sticky wicket

sticky wicket

noun

a cricket pitch that is rapidly being dried by the sun after rain and is particularly conducive to spin

informal a difficult or awkward situation (esp in the phrase on a sticky wicket)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sticky wicket

Origin of sticky wicket

Words nearby sticky wicket

Words related to sticky wicket

How to use sticky wicket in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sticky wicket