sticky wicket
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
noun
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a cricket pitch that is rapidly being dried by the sun after rain and is particularly conducive to spin
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informal a difficult or awkward situation (esp in the phrase on a sticky wicket )
Etymology
Origin of sticky wicket
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Another sticky wicket for my husband and I: How well should the chores be done?
From Slate • Jan. 2, 2019
The whole issue of 2018 estimated r.e. taxes paid in 2017 will be an extremely sticky wicket.
From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2017
So it seems we’re in a real sticky wicket here: do you have to be unhappy to have meaning?
From Time • Oct. 11, 2016
"They are on a sticky wicket with the law," says Ben Goodger, an expert on international IP law and a partner at the law firm Edwards Wildman Palmer.
From BBC • May 28, 2013
“My advice is to not get tangled up with the law to begin with. Once you do, it’s a sticky wicket, that’s for sure! Not easy to extricate oneself, har har.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
