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Posted by: Howard R Jan 27 2006, 12:46 PM

I was watching an old episode the other day and two of the actors used the term "sticky wicket", which struck me as quite odd, or is this in common usage in US/Can. So tell us what you think it means and where it came from.

Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 27 2006, 12:49 PM

i always presumed it was a cricket term. or croquet.

k

Posted by: Aaron Cox Jan 27 2006, 12:54 PM

i thought it was croquet

Posted by: r_towle Jan 27 2006, 12:58 PM

my interpretation

Sticky wicket= tight jam, or in a tight situation...
in a sticky wicket will require finness to get out of...

Rich

Posted by: Howard R Jan 27 2006, 01:05 PM

Cricket term. Caught on a wet or damp pitch, so the ball does unexpected things.

Posted by: richardL Jan 27 2006, 02:20 PM

QUOTE (Howard R @ Jan 27 2006, 11:05 AM)
Cricket term. Caught on a wet or damp pitch, so the ball does unexpected things.

In Cricket the ball is (usually) bounced off of the ground in front of the batsman and he has to hit it as it is rising up. If the ground is wet, rough or the grass is uneven or missing where the ball hits it doesn't bounce up predictably - it can veer off to the side, stay low or even bounce up.

Makes it very difficult to reliably hit (or avoid) the ball, as needed. Hence the term 'sticky wicket' means a tricky, unpredictable situation

R

Posted by: Elliot Cannon Jan 27 2006, 05:24 PM

Does anybody truly actually know the rules to cricket? I took a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Grounds a few years ago, had it all explained to me and I still don't get it.
Cheers, Elliot

Posted by: J P Stein Jan 27 2006, 05:30 PM

I'm sure that *someone* knows WTF is going on there, but what I'd really like to avoid is an explanation.

Posted by: Kerrys914 Jan 27 2006, 05:53 PM

Spent a year downunder in Perth and learned the game. The day matches are really really fun to watch. I wish the USA would get into it.

There is a local mens team near me that I may join..

Posted by: Borderline Jan 27 2006, 11:11 PM

My understanding is that the pitcher is trowing the ball at the wicket trying to knock something off of it...i can't remember what. the batteris protecting the wicket from being hit by the ball. If the ball hits the wicket and the thingy doesn't fall off like it should...hence "sticky wicket" strange game first time I ever heard myslef snore!

What brought this up?

Bill

Posted by: sgomes Jan 28 2006, 12:10 AM

Google is your friend. From takeourword.com:

QUOTE
The word wicket can mean a number of things. Primarily, it is a small door or gate, especially one which is set into a larger gate, allowing passage by travelers on foot when the larger gate is closed. It comes from Anglo-French wiket and is related to the Modern French guichet. That, however, is not where our answer lies.

A sticky wicket is a cricketing allusion so here is a very sketchy outline of the game purely for etymological purposes. (Cricket fans, we realize that there is a lot more to the game so please forgive us.). 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 such wickets, 22 yards apart, and a batsman stands by each one. The bowler tries to hit one of the wickets with the ball and the batsman's task is to protect his wicket (and score runs) by striking the ball with his bat.

So, now I think we all understand what wickets are. But we are not quite there yet. The word wicket is also used to mean the turf between the two wooden wickets and, by extension, the condition of that turf. Thus, if the turf is well trimmed and rolled and is neither too wet nor too dry, one may be batting on a good wicket. If, on the other hand, the turf is waterlogged and muddy it is known as a sticky wicket.

Phew, almost there. When one is batting on a sticky wicket the ball, which usually strikes the ground in front of the batsman, behaves unpredictably. In such conditions, it is harder for the batsman to defend his wicket (the wooden one). Therefore, to be on a sticky wicket means to be in a situation where it is difficult to succeed.

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