Throw a monkey wrench into


Sabotage or frustrate a project or plans, as in The boss threw a monkey wrench into our plans when he said we’d have to work Saturday. This transfer of industrial sabotage—that is, throwing a tool inside machinery—to other subjects dates from the early 1900s.

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  • Throw a monkey wrench into something

    throw a fit

  • Throw a party

    Put on or hold a social gathering, as in They’re throwing a party to introduce their nephew to the neighbors, or She threw a party every Saturday night. [ ; first half of 1900s ]

  • Throw a punch

    Deliver a blow with the first, as in He was furious enough to throw a punch at the other driver. This term originated in boxing but has been extended to less formal fisticuffs as well. [ First half of 1900s ]

  • Throwaway

    adjective 1. made or intended to be discarded after use or quick examination: a throwaway container; a throwaway brochure. 2. delivered or expressed casually or extemporaneously: a funny throwaway line that brings applause. noun 3. something that is made or intended to be discarded. 4. a handbill, advertising circular, pamphlet, etc., intended to be discarded […]

  • Throwback

    noun 1. an act of throwing back. 2. a setback or check. 3. the reversion to an ancestral or earlier type or character; atavism. 4. an example of this. noun 1. a person, animal, or plant that has the characteristics of an earlier or more primitive type a reversion to such an organism verb (adverb) […]


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