Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In mech., a screw-key with a movable jaw, which can be adjusted, by a screw or wedge, to the size of the nut which it is required to turn.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative form of
monkey wrench .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun adjustable wrench that has one fixed and one adjustable jaw
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word monkey-wrench.
Examples
-
With him he carried the monkey-wrench and short iron bar and a few spare feet of rope.
-
In the tool-box by the drum he found an old monkey-wrench and a short bar of iron, also a coil of fairly new Manila rope.
-
It's just that it can have an insidious way of throwing a monkey-wrench in my initial plans for a story.
Archive 2009-03-01 2009
-
For fear that he might drop the monkey-wrench he made it fast to his wrist with his handkerchief.
-
But the no-deals ultimatum coming from the activists could throw a serious monkey-wrench into what appear to be fast-moving negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders to keep the government running past March 4, when the current budget resolution expires.
Raucous First Caucus For House Tea Partiers Exposes Dangerous Rifts 2011
-
His life was luxurious yet humble, and when he's thrown the mother of all curve balls -- more of a monkey-wrench -- he has to face a hard life while still being surrounded by an idyllic setting and more money than he can shake a stick at.
-
It's just that it can have an insidious way of throwing a monkey-wrench in my initial plans for a story.
-
His life was luxurious yet humble, and when he's thrown the mother of all curve balls -- more of a monkey-wrench -- he has to face a hard life while still being surrounded by an idyllic setting and more money than he can shake a stick at.
Archive 2010-03-01 2010
-
The obligatory monkey-wrench comes in the form of the apparent resurrection of Blackwood from the grave and a new plot to bring London to its knees.
-
Bernie Sanders is crazy – socialists generally are – but if he can throw a monkey-wrench into the Democrats health-care welfare idiocy, great.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.