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threw a spanner in the works

threw a spanner in the works is the simple past of throw a spanner in the works.

Meaning of throw a spanner in the works

Verb

throw a spanner in the works (third-person singular simple present throws a spanner in the works, present participle throwing a spanner in the works, simple past threw a spanner in the works, past participle thrown a spanner in the works)

(UK, idiomatic) To introduce a problem, dilemma or obstacle, something unexpected or troublesome.
- Halfway through the production of Macbeth, the director found that the stage was smaller than he had expected. This really threw a spanner in the works.
Synonyms:

throw a wrench in the works, throw a wrench in the gears, throw a monkey wrench in the works, gum up the works

Questions about threw a spanner in the works

What is threw a spanner in the works the simple past of?: Threw a spanner in the works is the simple past of throw a spanner in the works.

Words near threw a spanner in the works in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: threw a spanner in the works (page history and authors); throw a spanner in the works (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “threw a spanner in the works.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/threw_a_spanner_in_the_works. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.