Sticky wicket - wikipedia Sticky wicket For the M * A * S * H episode, see Sticky Wicket. A sticky wicket, ( or sticky dog, or glue pot ) is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance. It originated as a term for difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket, caused by a damp and soft pitch. Contents 1 In cricket 1.1 Players renowned for abilities on sticky wickets 1.2 In modern day professional cricket 1.3 In croquet 2 As a metaphor 2.1 In popular culture 3 References 4 External links In cricket The phrase comes from the game of cricket. `` Wicket '' has several meanings in cricket : in this case, also known as the pitch, it refers to the rectangular area in the centre of the cricket field between the stumps. The wicket is usually covered in a much shorter grass than the rest of the field or entirely bare, making it susceptible to variations in weather, which in turn cause the ball to bounce differently. If rain falls and the wicket becomes wet, the ball may not bounce predictably, making it very difficult for the batsman. Furthermore, as the pitch dries, conditions can change swiftly, with spin bowling being especially devastating, as the ball can deviate laterally from straight by several feet. Once the wet surface begins to dry in a hot sun `` the ball will rise sharply, steeply and erratically. A good length ball... becomes a potential lethal delivery. Most batsmen on such wickets found it virtually impossible to survive let alone score. '' On occasions in the history of cricket unusual tactics have been employed to extract the best use of a sticky wicket. One example is the First Test in the 1950 -- 51 Ashes series. As recorded in The Ashes ' Strangest Moments, as the pitch at the Gabba began to dry, England declared their first innings at just 68 / 7, in order to exploit the conditions. Australia were even more extreme, declaring at 32 / 7. ``... the ball proceeded to perform capers all against the laws of gravitation, and their came the craziest day 's cricket imaginable, with twenty wickets falling for 130 runs and two declarations that must surely be unique in the annuals of Test cricket. '' The Language of Cricket ( 1934 ) defines a sticky wicket as `` when its surface is in a glutinous condition ''. Hence a `` sticky wicket '' refers to a difficult situation. Players renowned for abilities on sticky wickets Certain cricketers developed reputations for their outstanding abilities to perform on sticky wickets. Australian Victor Trumper was one. In modern day professional cricket Modern professional cricket is played, around the world, on covered pitches. Sticky wickets are mostly seen in amateur cricket, but the phenomenon can occur when covers are defective, slow to be applied or, particularly in warm weather, the grass underneath `` sweats '' as moisture evaporates. When covers were introduced into England 's County Championship, John Woodcock wrote an article for the 1981 Wisden Cricketers ' Almanack, criticising the move, in an article titled, `` Sticky dog is put down ''. He added, `` I can not forbear... from lamenting... a part of the very heritage of English cricket -- a drying pitch and a sizzling sun. '' In croquet In the game of croquet, the phrase `` sticky wicket '' may refer to a hoop ( wicket ) that is difficult for a ball to go through because of the narrowness of the opening. This usage is confined to the United States. As a metaphor An early example of the term in the cricket sense 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. '' There term is frequently used in everyday parlance as a metaphor. An example from finance is that The Independent used the phrase in a story about the Bank of England. The former leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, Tom Spencer MEP occasionally used to refer to batting on a sticky wicket to confuse the Parliament 's interpreters, it being very difficult to translate into other languages. In popular culture 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 album lbums 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. In 2013, Irish cricket - pop band The Duckworth Lewis Method called their second album, and one of its songs, Sticky Wickets. References Jump up ^ Green, Jonathon ( 1987 ). Dictionary of Jargon. Routledge. p. 528. ISBN 9780710099198. Jump up ^ Marcus Callies ; Wolfram R. Keller ; Astrid Lohöfer ( 2011 ). Bi-directionality in the Cognitive Sciences : Avenues, Challenges, and Limitations. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 73 --. ISBN 90 - 272 - 2384 - X. Jump up ^ Robert Hendrickson ( 26 April 2001 ). World English : From Aloha to Zed. Wiley. ISBN 978 - 0 - 471 - 34518 - 3. Jump up ^ Colin McNairn ( 28 April 2015 ). In a Manner of Speaking : Phrases, Expressions, and Proverbs and How We Use and Misuse Them. Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 85 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 63220 - 898 - 9. Jump up ^ Kate Burridge ( 27 May 2004 ). Blooming English : Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. pp. 68 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 54832 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Mallett, Ashley ( 1 January 2001 ). `` Eleven : The Greatest Eleven of the 20th Century ''. Univ. of Queensland Press. Retrieved 22 March 2017 -- via Google Books. ^ Jump up to : Baldwin, Mark ( 1 January 2005 ). `` The Ashes ' Strangest Moments : Extraordinary But True Tales from Over a Century of the Ashes ''. Franz Steiner Verlag. Retrieved 22 March 2017 -- via Google Books. Jump up ^ John Kay, Ashes to Hassett, A review of the M.C.C. tour of Australia, 1950 -- 51, John Sherratt & Son, 1951 p129 Jump up ^ The Language of Cricket ( 1934 ), WJ Lewis, Oxford University Press, page 258 Jump up ^ Colin McNairn ( 24 February 2017 ). Sports Talk : How It Has Penetrated Our Everyday Language. FriesenPress. pp. 83 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 5255 - 0154 - 8. Jump up ^ Orin Hargraves ( 2003 ). Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions : Making Sense of Transatlantic English. Oxford University Press. pp. 197 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 515704 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Stern, John ; Williams, Marcus ( 7 January 2014 ). `` The Essential Wisden : An Anthology of 150 Years of Wisden Cricketers ' Almanack ''. A&C Black. Retrieved 22 March 2017 -- via Google Books. Jump up ^ Partridge, Eric ; Dalzell, Tom ; Victor, Terry ( 2006 ). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. London ; New York : Routledge. p. 1869. ISBN 0 - 415 - 25938 - X. Jump up ^ Martin, Gary ( 2007 ). `` A sticky wicket ''. The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 04. Jump up ^ Harrison, Michael. `` Michael Harrison 's Outlook : On a sticky wicket, the Governor opts for the forward defensive prod ''. The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2005. External links Definition at cricket terminology site A list of famous innings played on Sticky dogs in Test cricket ( Cricinfo ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sticky_wicket&oldid=800705586 '' Categories : Cricket terminology Metaphors referring to sport Hidden categories : Use British English from February 2013 Use dmy dates from February 2013 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 15 September 2017, at 05 : 17. About Wikipedia

Question: where did the expression sticky wicket come from
Answer: as a term for difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket, caused by a damp and soft pitch