Meanings
plural monkey wrenches in the works
- Synonym of spanner in the works.
Now I understand the French have reneged on their former agreement and there is considerable throwing of monkey wrenches in the works, and the situation has bogged down completely.
1951, United States, Congress, House, Committee on Foreign Affairs, The Mutual Security Program, Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, First Session, on H.R. 5020 and H.R. 5113 (the Mutual Security Program)., page 416Synonyms: spanner in the works
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of spanner in the works.
Cite this entry
monkey wrench in the works. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20wrench%20in%20the%20works
“monkey wrench in the works.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20wrench%20in%20the%20works. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monkey wrench in the works,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20wrench%20in%20the%20works.
Source: monkey wrench in the works on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.