Sticky wicket

Posted by David R. Quammen on January 12, 2004

In Reply to: Sticky wicket posted by Ummm.... on January 08, 2004

I first saw Sticky Wicket as a sign on a coffee house near Santa Cruz off Hwy one in the late 50s, early 60s. It had been a beatnik coffee house, but when I finally went to it in the mid 60s, it had turned into a commercially-oriented coffeehouse/reading room. The definition origionally applied to the relationship between batter and pitcher in the game of Cricket. A left-handed batter that was facing a right-handed pitcher (or vice-versa) was said to face a Sticky Wicket - that is, a problem when at bat. I finally used the term for my web site as an advocate for the poor - The Sticky Wicket: Poverty's Home Page. It received several awards. But by the time I used it, the definition had evolved to the following, which is the home page for my old site.
The Sticky Wicket Poverty's Home Page

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Sticky Wicket - (n) a difficult or delicate problem or situation.
Poverty - a difficult problem for people in a delicate situation

Poverty In America - a sticky wicket

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