ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sticking point

idiom
Meaning

A disputed issue or state of affairs that causes an interruption or outright impasse in progress towards some goal or resolution, especially in negotiation or argumentation.


Examples
SIMPLE

Money is always the sticking point in our talks.

CONTEXTUAL

The contract looked good until salary became the sticking point that stopped everything.

COMPLEX

For weeks the negotiations had proceeded smoothly, but intellectual property rights emerged as the final sticking point that neither side would concede.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    beside the point

    Irrelevant, moot.

  2. 02

    boiling point

    The state of being heated, with high aggression.

  3. 03

    brownie point

    Credit or praise for good work or a good deed, often for the express purpose of currying favor.

  4. 04

    get the point

    To understand; to interpret correctly.

  5. 05

    get to the point

    To state (something) directly; as opposed to in a long-winded way.

  6. 06

    labour the point

    To continue to discuss or explain something excessively or repetitively to the point that it may bore or annoy the listener.

  7. 07

    make a point

    To argue or promote an idea.

  8. 08

    not to put too fine a point on it

    Used to apologize for a possibly impolite statement one is making; to put it bluntly; to express it in plain terms.

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