But last week, defence lawyer Bill Taylor QC put a spanner in the works.

BBC: Waiting for the 'supergrass'

If true, that is a spanner in the works for those designing quantum gravity.

ECONOMIST: Planck-scale physics

But now members of the European Parliament have thrown a spanner in the works.

ECONOMIST: EU takeover rules

However two British MEPs, Liberal Democrat Diana Wallis and Conservative Nirj Deva attempted to throw a spanner in the works by forcing an election.

BBC: Democracy Live site links

It should be punch and counterpunch between the leading duo until the final bell sounds in Brazil, with the weather set to throw a spanner in the works too.

CNN: Hamilton v Massa: Where the title will be won

The strengthening in the yen throws a spanner in the works for the Japanese government, which has been trying to weaken the currency in hopes of reviving the battered, relatively export-oriented economy.

WSJ: Asian Shares Down; Nikkei Underperforms

At the time, American vintners believed that the ruling would help them all expand their business exponentially (a flurry of follow-up lawsuits and lobbying by wholesalers has thrown a spanner in the works).

FORBES: Magazine Article

It's a spanner in the works.

CNN: Opinion: Nuclear is 'a spanner in the works'

The meeting between the hosts and the Irish will conclude the opening round of matches, with head coach Phillip Doyle's team keen to put a spanner in the English works.

BBC: Women primed for Rugby World Cup kick-off in England

However, a spanner has recently been thrown in the works.

ECONOMIST: Rocky shores | The

Moussaoui, however, has thrown a spanner into the works by leaping up in court, declaring his guilt and his membership in al-Qaeda.

BBC: Analysis: Moussaoui - deal or death penalty?