Sticky wicket (or sticky dog, or glue pot) is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.
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The phrase comes from the game of cricket. The pitch in cricket is also known as "the wicket". It can be affected by rain and the sun, causing the ball to bounce unpredictably: a pitch which had been wet would become increasingly difficult to bat on, as it dried out.
Such a pitch was referred to as a "sticky wicket" for a batter because the ball's bounces are unpredictable (such wickets are far less common in cricket since matches stopped being played on uncovered pitches).
An early example of the term can be seen in Bell's Life in London, July 1882: "The ground... was suffering from the effects of recent rain, and once more the Australians found themselves on a sticky wicket."[1]
The Independent used the phrase in a story about the Bank of England.[2]
The Melbourne Age used the phrase in a headline "WTO on a sticky wicket against Japan's rice bowlers".[3]
The phrase has some currency in North America, despite the relatively low popularity of cricket there. The phrase has made inroads into American popular culture, including in Take out the Trash Day, the 13th episode of the first season of the television drama The West Wing. It was also used in the 2010 American film She's Out of My League by Kirk, the film's protagonist. The term was often used in Hogan's Heroes.
The San Francisco Chronicle used the phrase in a headline "For father and son in 'The Match', life's a sticky wicket".[4]
The phrase was written on a note hidden under a doughnut given to the character Dicky Randall played by Rex Harrison in the 1940 film Night Train To Munich, directed by Carol Reed.
The phrase was used in the 2008 Paul Gross film Passchendaele by Dobson-Hughes (Jim Mezon).[5]
In the game of croquet, the phrase "sticky wicket" may refer to a shot that is difficult to make. This usage is confined to the United States.[6]
In the Greg Brown song "Kokomo," a lyric references a 'sticky wicket': "...with a sticky wicket and a Greyhound ticket..." In 1984, jazz vocalist Al Jarreau on his High Crime release made a song dedicated to Sticky Wicket. The song details the escapade of a young girl and more suitors than she can handle for her young age.