A: How are things doing with your new research project? B: We were hoping to get it started in May but the funding was withdrawn so that rather put a spanner in the works. A: Sorry to hear that. Note: This idiom, where “put” can be replaced by “throw,” means “to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding.” It refers to the calamitous effects of throwing a spanner into the gears and pistons of an engine. It’s the British/Australian version, as Americans will say “He should have had sense enough to see that he was throwing a monkey wrench into the works.” |