the sticks
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the sticks
Where it comes from
Possibly derived from 1800s Chinook Jargon stick (“tree, forest”), from English stick.
noun
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A remote, rural area; a place that is removed from civilization such as the boondocks.
She grew up in the sticks and later moved to the city.
Similar: backwoods, boonies, boondocks, hinterland, middle of nowhere, Isolated town, bump in the road, jerkwater, jerk-water, jerkwater town, one-horse town, wide spot in the road
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The set of yardage markers used by a chain crew to indicate the ten yards between the line of scrimmage from the previous first down and the line to gain, which the offense must reach in their series of four downs in order to retain possession of the ball.
They gained just enough on that play to move the sticks and continue the drive.
Similar: the chains, the yardsticks
Talk about this word "the sticks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/the%20sticks. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. the sticks. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/the%20sticks "the sticks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/the%20sticks.Cite this
@misc{the_sticks_2026,
title = {the sticks},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/the%20sticks},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
