What's the difference between spanker and spanner?

Spanker


Definition:

  • (n.) One who spanks, or anything used as an instrument for spanking.
  • (n.) The after sail of a ship or bark, being a fore-and-aft sail attached to a boom and gaff; -- sometimes called driver. See Illust. under Sail.
  • (n.) One who takes long, quick strides in walking; also, a fast horse.
  • (n.) Something very large, or larger than common; a whopper, as a stout or tall person.
  • (n.) A small coin.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) I was watching with my parents and a girlfriend in our small living room in Fife, a long way from the lifestyles of movers and shakers (and spankers) like Tynan.
  • (2) He seemed to bid farewell to the stage as a touring Prospero in The Tempest in 2003, but returned unexpectedly in 2010 as the military relic Adolphus Spanker in Nicholas Hytner's mellow National Theatre revival of Dion Boucicault's London Assurance , alongside Fiona Shaw and Simon Russell Beale.

Spanner


Definition:

  • (n.) One who, or that which, spans.
  • (n.) The lock of a fusee or carbine; also, the fusee or carbine itself.
  • (n.) An iron instrument having a jaw to fit a nut or the head of a bolt, and used as a lever to turn it with; a wrench; specifically, a wrench for unscrewing or tightening the couplings of hose.
  • (n.) A contrivance in some of the ealier steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) An open-ended torque release spanner was set for 0.9 Newton-metres for clinical use such that the compressive load is sufficient to prevent pull-out even in the unlikely event of 60 lb being applied for up to 21 days.
  • (2) Another spanner in the Brotherhood's works was the recent decision by the supreme constitutional court to dissolve parliament, in which it was the majority bloc through its political arm, the Freedom and Justice party.
  • (3) 9.07pm GMT Final score: Panthers 21-20 Falcons For a moment it appeared as though the Falcons were about to throw a spanner in the works, driving up to near midfield with 30 seconds left to play.
  • (4) And despite what he says, it would be very tough for him to beat her.” Clinton spent last summer fighting accusations of inappropriate use of a personal email server during her time as secretary of state, an issue that threw an unexpected spanner in what was initially seen as a clear path to the nomination.
  • (5) Fulham thought they'd secured the striker's scrawl, but it now seems that Big Sam might be on the verge of throwing a spanner in the works.
  • (6) He thinks the party’s current stance on solving 21st-century problems is as outdated as “trying to overhaul an Apple MacBook with a spanner” and says decisions should be made by members networked via the internet rather than in local party meetings in draughty church halls.
  • (7) Fittingly, most traces of this Michael Green’s HowToCorp company have since been erased from cyberspace, perhaps by his own software, jammed in reverse gear with an imaginary spanner.
  • (8) If this is the tone in which the UK proceeds, then throwing spanners in May’s works will be irresistible to many of them.
  • (9) "Kim Dotcom could throw a real spanner in the works of this year's general election," Bryce Edwards, a political commentator and lecturer at the University of Otago, wrote on his blog.
  • (10) Barclays' decision threatens to throw a spanner in the works as Somalia embarks on reconstruction.
  • (11) "Coalition government and Ukip have thrown spanners in the old assumptions," says Sanders.
  • (12) A Scandal in Bohemia opens with Conan Doyle sidelining feeling as "grit in a sensitive instrument", a spanner in the works of the world's "most perfect reasoning and observing machine".
  • (13) 7 Get a spanner Things are going to go wrong much more often, so expect mini-disasters.
  • (14) Two series of bivalent ligands (P-X-P) containing the (R,S)-3-[(4-aminoaryl)oxy]-1-(isopropylamino)propan-2-ol pharmacophore and a connecting alpha,omega-dicarbonylpoly(methylene) [X = -OC(CH2)nCO-] or alpha,omega-N,N'-bis(carbonylmethylene) polymethylenediamine [X = -OCCH2NH(CH2)nNHCH2CO-] spanner were synthesized and evaluated for beta-adrenoceptor antagonist activity in rat heart and lung membrane preparations.
  • (15) But there's another, easier way of establishing whether someone is two spanners short of a tool box.
  • (16) There’s a social stigma, too.” The design of the new devices, from masculine chrome pipes like luxury motorbike spanners to delicate diamanté bling-sticks, helps, too.
  • (17) In short, they are all much better riders than me and calmly slide out of their saddles at the end of the day while I limp off as if I have been sitting on a bag of spanners.
  • (18) More self-harm to report: a single decision with the potential to devastate the finances of millions, blight some of the poorest communities in the developing world and throw a spanner in the workings of our aid agencies.
  • (19) The data suggest that further increases in spanner length and lipophilicity and optical resolution may improve the potential of a labeled bivalent beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist to function as a myocardial imaging agent.
  • (20) Jack Lang (@snap_kaka_pop) Potential spanner in the works for Everton?