Why do Americans call spanners wrenches?

In American English, spanner refers to a specialized wrench with a series of pins or tabs around the circumference. (These pins or tabs fit into the holes or notches cut into the object to be turned.) In American commerce, such a wrench may be called a spanner wrench to distinguish it from the British sense of spanner.

Is a wrench the same as a spanner?

A spanner is a type of adjustable wrench. Outside of North America, spanner is just another word for “wrench.” If Americans want to ruin something, they “throw a wrench into it.” British people “throw a spanner in the works.”

Why do people call people spanners?

(Britain, Ireland, mildly derogatory) A stupid or unintelligent person; one prone to making mistakes, especially in language. You spanner, Rodney! I wanted some time, not a bunch of thyme!

What is a flogging spanner?

A thick, short, stocky wrench with a block end to the handle, commonly used as a backing wrench or can be struck with a hammer (where permitted) to provide manual shock and high force used to release large and/or stubborn nuts and bolts, and when space does not allow room for a large wrench.

What do Canadians call a wrench?

In Canada and the United States, the tool is known as a Crescent wrench or an adjustable wrench. In Australia it is referred to as a “shifting spanner”, usually abbreviated to “shifter”.

Where did the term monkey wrench originate?

Charles Moncky, a Baltimore mechanic, invented the monkey wrench around 1858. Moncky’s wrench was named using a purposeful misspelling of his name.

Where did the phrase monkey wrench come from?

Hall sent a clip from World Wide Words, an etymology website, which suggested that the wrench got its animalistic moniker because it was similar to a “key wrench,” but was different enough to be called a “non-key” wrench. That awkward phrasing was then corrupted to “monkey wrench.”

Why is the monkey wrench called that?

His patent was not the first for a wrench. Solymon Merrick of Springfield, Massachusetts, patented the first wrench in 1835. Charles Moncky, a Baltimore mechanic, invented the monkey wrench around 1858. Moncky’s wrench was named using a purposeful misspelling of his name.

What does the British word spanner mean?

wrench
Definition of spanner 1 chiefly British : wrench. 2 : a wrench that has a hole, projection, or hook at one or both ends of the head for engaging with a corresponding device on the object that is to be turned.

Who calls a wrench a spanner?

, International truck driver with 50 years’ driving experience. In the UK, it’s only called a “wrench” if the jaws are adjustable or if it’s a torque wrench, otherwise it’s called a “spanner” or sometimes a “key”.

What do the English call a crescent wrench?

An adjustable spanner (UK, and most other English-speaking countries) or adjustable wrench (US and Canada) is an open-end wrench with a movable jaw, allowing it to be used with different sizes of fastener head (nut, bolt, etc.) rather than just one fastener size, as with a conventional fixed spanner.