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Dear Sal,
I thought you might like to see SlangInsider.com's
Slang of the Day:
A sticky wicket (noun)
A difficult or delicate problem or situation
Example:
He is really on A sticky wicket presently and it will be a near miracle if his career survives the situation.
Celebrity quote:
"I have got to get some defenders into the team and quickly or we will be on A sticky wicket."
-Russ Slade - Head of the Seasiders Football Club
A sticky wicket is a sports allusion, with the sport being cricket. In cricket, a wicket is composed of three upright sticks (the "stumps") with two small pieces of wood (the "bales") resting across their tops. There are two wickets, 22 yards apart, with a batsman at each one. The 22 yards between these sets of sticks is also sometimes referred to as a wicket. The bowler tries to hit one of the wickets with the ball while the batsman tries to protect his wicket and score runs etc.
In this case, the wicket under discussion is the turf between the sticks. When one is batting on a sticky wicket (caused by rain the day before), the ball, which must strike the ground in front of the batsman, may behave unpredictably. Thus, to be on a sticky wicket means to be in a difficult situation.
Sincerely,
Jimmy
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