English · Idiom Candidate

spanner in the works

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Something that causes problems or disrupts plans

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

điều gì đó gây ra vấn đề hoặc phá vỡ kế hoạch

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: a wrench in the machinery

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The surprise resignation was a spanner in the works for the project

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent thọc gậy bánh xe to put a spoke in someone's wheel; to throw a spanner in the works Tiếng Việt Near equivalent in the works being planned or developed English · via thọc gậy bánh xe Near equivalent throw a spanner in the works To cause problems or disrupt plans English · via thọc gậy bánh xe

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Common questions

What does “spanner in the works” mean?

Something that causes problems or disrupts plans Literally: a wrench in the machinery

Is “spanner in the works” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“thọc gậy bánh xe” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.