come to a sticky end

English

Alternative forms

• meet a sticky end

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

come to a sticky end (third-person singular simple present comes to a sticky end, present participle coming to a sticky end, simple past came to a sticky end, past participle come to a sticky end)

1. (idiomatic, British) To die unpleasantly due to one's actions.
   • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 139:

     Newbery in England and Isaiah Thomas in the U.S.A. insisted that their books for children were of a high moral tone. Children had to be good in order to escape from hell, and most bad children came to a very sticky end.

References

• “come to a sticky end”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.