A spanner/wrench in the works
put a spanner in the works (British & Australian) [2 instances in BNC, 0 in COCA, more than 300 in books.google.com]
throw a spanner in the works (British & Australian) [2 instances in BNC, 0 in COCA, more than 250 in books.google.com] put a wrench in the works (American) [0 instances in BNC, 0 in COCA, 30 in books.google.com] throw a wrench in the works (American) [0 instances in BNC, 3 in COCA, more than 150 in books.google.com] throw a monkey wrench in the works (American) [0 instances in BNC, 0 in COCA, more than 100 in books.google.com] throw a monkey in the works (American) [0 instances in BNC, 0 in COCA, 1 in books.google.com] poner(meter) palos en la rueda (Argentina) [5 instances in CREA, 32 in books.google.com] more versions in both languages? subtle differences in meaning? comments? |
Haven't heard 'throw a monkey in the works'. Perhaps, since it had one occurrence, it was just a mistake.
'Throw a monkey wrench in | into' is heard more often than the others, at least where I'm from. All the American English versions mean sabotage. He threw a monkey wrench in our plans. = He ruined our plans. |
Seconding Rusty's comments for AmE.
Also, depending on context, "throw/put a [monkey] wrench in[to]" may be intentional (sabotage) or accidental (ruin), and it typically refers to some change of circumstances or conditions that blocks the original plan from going forward. |
Quote:
Stick my oar in Add my spoke to the wheel but these just indicate inteference, nothing which necessarily stops something working. |
Thank you everybody!
It looks to me that every version in English is quite flexible and may range from sabotages and active actions to promote a person or group to fail, to delays and people set in their ways and obstructing change. The Argentine version excludes sabotage involving destruction or harm -it may pursue failure and delays- and it's literally what I understood from "add my spoke to the wheel" with the sole change of a spoke being replaced by a humble stick found nearby. It's an old idiom. Many other expression were created but they survive just as sabotage or haven't survive the technologies involved (In a way, "sonar como un disco rayado", an expression outside the scope of this group of terms, is the epitome of idioms becoming dated by technological progress) I only know the Argentine version and I am curious about how they convey the same meaning in Spain, Mexico and everywhere. |
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