We were ready to start the project when the bank threw a spanner in the works by denying the loan.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
throw a spanner in the works — put/throw a spanner in the works British & Australian, American to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding. We were hoping to get the project started in June but the funding was withdrawn so that rather threw a spanner in… … New idioms dictionary
throw a spanner in the works — To cause confusion or difficulty, upset plans • • • Main Entry: ↑spanner * * * throw/put/a spanner in the works british informal phrase to do something that suddenly stops a process or plan Her criticisms really thre … Useful english dictionary
put a spanner in the works — put/throw a spanner in the works British & Australian, American to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding. We were hoping to get the project started in June but the funding was withdrawn so that rather threw a spanner in… … New idioms dictionary
put a spanner in the works — throw/put/a spanner in the works british informal phrase to do something that suddenly stops a process or plan Her criticisms really threw a spanner in the works. Thesaurus: to stop something from continuing or developingsynonym to kill a person… … Useful english dictionary
put a spanner in the works — To put a spanner in the works (or throw a (monkey) wrench) means to cause problems and prevent something from happening as planned. A new motorway was planned but a group of ecologists managed to put a spanner in the works … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
spanner — noun (C) 1 BrE a metal tool that fits over a nut (nut1 (2)) and is used for turning it to make it tight or to undo it; wrench 2 (3) AmE see also: ring spanner 2 put/throw a spanner in the works BrE informal to unexpectedly do something that… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
spanner — span|ner [ˈspænə US ər] n BrE [Date: 1600 1700; : Germa] 1.) a metal tool that fits over a ↑nut, used for turning the nut to make it tight or to undo it American Equivalent: wrench 2.) put/throw a spanner in the works informal to unexpectedly do… … Dictionary of contemporary English
throw — [[t]θro͟ʊ[/t]] ♦♦ throws, throwing, threw, thrown 1) VERB When you throw an object that you are holding, you move your hand or arm quickly and let go of the object, so that it moves through the air. [V n prep/adv] He spent hours throwing a tennis … English dictionary
spanner — UK [ˈspænə(r)] / US [ˈspænər] noun [countable] Word forms spanner : singular spanner plural spanners British a metal tool that you use for turning small pieces of metal called nuts to make them tighter • throw/put a spanner in the works British… … English dictionary
The Labours of Hercules — Infobox Book | name = The Labours of Hercules title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition. See Publication history (below) for UK first edition jacket image. author = Agatha Christie… … Wikipedia
