stick-in-the-mud

[ stik-in-thuh-muhd ]

noun

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

stick-in-the-mud

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stick-in-the-mud¹

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

The way Yolanda sees it, Sam is the stick-in-the-mud who “stole” an important grant from under her nose.

From Washington Post

In 1961 he criticized British industry as a bastion for “the smug and the stick-in-the-mud,” calling failures in manufacturing and commerce “a national defeat.”

From New York Times

There’s no question that Cary Grant’s serpentine charm wins out over Ralph Bellamy’s stick-in-the-mud decency, but not everyone is “sold American” on Walter Burns.

From New York Times

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

From Literature