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Glite Dictionary
to meet a sticky end

to meet a sticky end

8.3
To die in a sudden or violent way
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : tener un final trágico
  • But fortunately for paleobiologists, many creatures did meet a sticky end.

Examples

  • If he continues to drive so carelessly, he will surely meet a sticky end on the road.

  • Many reckless adventurers who ignore safety warnings often meet a sticky end in the wilderness.

  • In the horror movie, the characters who ventured into the haunted house all met a sticky end one by one.

Synonyms

to come to grief
vsto meet a sticky end
  • Informal
1 7.3

To suffer sudden failure or serious trouble

ends in an unpleasant, dangerous, or fatal outcome rather than mere trouble

Antonyms

to escape
∞ 1.0

To get away from a place where you are kept or are in danger

to survive
∞ 2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

Surface Forms

meet a sticky end infinitive

Morphology

meet + a + sticky + end

The parts ('meet' = experience, 'sticky' = difficult/awkward or literal adhesive, 'end' = final point) do suggest an unpleasant or problematic conclusion, so learners who know the words may infer a general negative outcome. However, the idiomatic force that it often implies a dangerous or fatal (violent/messy) finish is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the precise sense uncertain without prior exposure.

Etymology

Meet a sticky end may come from the image of someone getting trapped in sticky tar or pitch and unable to escape. That picture of being stuck explains why the phrase means 'to come to an unpleasant or deadly end'.