h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I believe the prhase 'sticky situations' does not refer, as is commonly believed, to adhesive, but to a situation where you have to use all your cunning and initiative to determine what the best way to use your stick is.

Actually, the original source of the term sticky situation was 1.5 million years ago, when a particularly hairy ape\man staggered out of the jungle, fiercely pursued by a very large, very hungry sabre tooth. In deseration, he grabbed desperately at a passing tree, breaking off a branch and incidently creating the first man made stick( as opposed to the 100 % natural variety that creates itself). Triumphantly holding his new weapon aloft, the apeman turned around and belted the tiger right across the nose. This naturally upset the tiger, who responded in the time honoured manner of his species and proceeded to indulge in a light snack. Thus the stick in sticky situation refers both to ingeniouse use of ones stick, and the resultant gooey mess should that use prove ineffective.