- a sticky question.
-  an awkward pause followed his remark.
-  awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion.
-  felt sticky and chilly at the same time.
-  in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign.
-  muggy weather.
-  sticky weather.
-  the steamy tropics.