sticking point

Related to sticking point: not to mention, reinstate, in the first place, pat on the back

sticking point

A topic of discussion or debate that results in disagreement. The subject of curfew is often a real sticking point between teenagers and their parents.
See also: point, stick
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a sticking point

COMMON A sticking point is a point which people cannot agree about and which stops them achieving something. Talks with the actor broke down, and money was assumed to be the sticking point. The Americans have presented a plan on agriculture, the main sticking point in the trade talks.
See also: point, stick
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

sticking point

A point or issue on which agreement cannot be reached. Dating from the mid-1900s, this term is often used with regard to negotiations of some kind. For example, a Boston Globe headline for an article about North and South Korea holding a reunion of families separated by war read: “South’s desired location could be sticking point” (September 18, 2010).
See also: point, stick
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a sticking point
  • a difference of opinion
  • at issue
  • issue
  • bone of contention, the
  • go halfway
  • meet (one) halfway
  • meet halfway
  • meet somebody halfway
  • meet someone halfway
References in periodicals archive
The actual value of an individual's brand is notoriously difficult to quantify, which is why it can often become a sticking point during negotiations.
The deadline for the launch of the European External Action Service (EAS) has been moved to winter 2010 but progress is still being made on the remaining sticking points with the European Parliament, EU sources told Europolitics as Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, prepared to go into further negotiations with MEPs, on 8 June.
It quotes officials as saying the main sticking point is whether manufacturers should be fined if they breach mandatory CO2 emission limits for new models.
"We have reached a sticking point with negotiations.
A sticking point between Valero and Aruba: the expiration of a tax exemption that existed when Valero bought the plant, said Henry Baarh, minister for Aruban affairs at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington.
Using more degrees of helical offset used to be a sticking point as we tried to achieve good flight while still having adequate vane clearance at the rest.
The biggest sticking point was health care and salary.
In art as he did in sports, Goncalves returns to the same elemental game of truth or dare: "The sticking point is always, Where do I fit in?
Biblical interpretation becomes another sticking point for cultural Christians and religious conservatives coexisting under the same Christian umbrella.
American executives say a new $3.50 per segment booking fee is a sticking point in negotiations with Sabre and Amadeus.
The Berg letter became a sticking point not because it was sedition, but because this is the sort of political climate that in the past has produced sedition laws.
Whether you are a real estate developer, owner or investor, concerns about potential environmental liability can be a major sticking point in the transfer of property.
This is a sticking point and chief executive should be demanding that all these companies get relief from a hugely expensive, time-consuming process, which ultimately does not guarantee that fraud won't occur.
Yet therein lies the sticking point: Morley is drawn to the most unlikely of motifs.
The potential sticking point according to Morell is power.