However, The Phrase Finder (Phrases.org.uk) points out that it is pretty “safe to say that the phrase was rarely called on to describe an actual event and is likely to have been coined for its imagery.” In other words, no-one may actually have done it, but its image is terrifying enough for the expression to catch on. The expression itself was coined by the inimitable P. G. Wodehouse. More from the Phrase Finder:
The first record of it in print is in P. G. Wodehouse’s Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934:
“He should have had sense enough to see that he was throwing a spanner into the works.”
The phrase sounds rather Wodehousian and it’s quite possible that he coined it for that story.
I find the Phrase Finder very plausible as Wodehouse was known for coining words and expressions at the spur of the moment. If you haven’t read any of Wodehouse’s works about Jeeves, the all-knowing butler, get yourself any copy you can find and read it. Wodehouse, though long dead, remains one of the best humorists in the English language.
Anyways, that’s the spanner in the works, a disruptive event or person that threatens to bring a whole enterprise to a collapse or halt.Here are more media examples of this very popular British expression:
1. Greece’s shock plan to hold a referendum on the eurozone rescue package has triggered a slump on world markets.
The FTSE 100 Index in London fell more than 2%, or 122.7 points, to 5421.6, after Greek prime minister George Papandreou's unexpected move cast fresh doubts on last week’s much-heralded proposals to protect Europe from economic collapse.
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