sticky wicket

noun

1. 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.
2. 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.

sticky wicket

noun

1. a cricket pitch that is rapidly being dried by the sun after rain and is particularly conducive to spin
2. informal.
   a difficult or awkward situation (esp in the phrase on a sticky wicket )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sticky wicket¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

“The Supreme Court now is really in a sticky wicket, of historical proportions, of constitutional dimensions, to a degree that I don’t think we’ve ever really seen before,” said Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

From Seattle Times

“It could end up being a very sticky wicket” for some patients to access care, she said.

From Seattle Times

Asteroids are a notoriously sticky wicket.

From Washington Post

This, then, is the sticky wicket.

From Slate

The region had overwhelmingly voted for the BJP in the last polls in 2017, but this time they are on a sticky wicket.

From BBC