(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(6) He thinks the party’s current stance on solving 21st-century problems is as outdated as “trying to overhaul an Apple MacBook with a spanner” and says decisions should be made by members networked via the internet rather than in local party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?
Tool
Definition:
(n.) An instrument such as a hammer, saw, plane, file, and the like, used in the manual arts, to facilitate mechanical operations; any instrument used by a craftsman or laborer at his work; an implement; as, the tools of a joiner, smith, shoe-maker, etc.; also, a cutter, chisel, or other part of an instrument or machine that dresses work.
(n.) A machine for cutting or shaping materials; -- also called machine tool.
(n.) Hence, any instrument of use or service.
(n.) A weapon.
(n.) A person used as an instrument by another person; -- a word of reproach; as, men of intrigue have their tools, by whose agency they accomplish their purposes.
(v. t.) To shape, form, or finish with a tool.
(v. t.) To drive, as a coach.
Example Sentences:
(1) Spectral analysis of spontaneous heart rate fluctuations, a powerful noninvasive tool for quantifying autonomic nervous system activity, was assessed in Xenopus Laevis, intact or spinalized, at different temperatures and by use of pharmacological tools.
(2) The HTCA is promising as a potential tool for studying the biology of tumors.
(3) But both for malaria and Aids we’re seeing the tools that will let us do 95-100% reduction.
(4) These studies demonstrate the potential of ICAM-1 transfectants as tools for analysis of the role of ICAM-1 in lymphoid adhesion.
(5) This method can characterize reliably flavivirus field isolates at the molecular level without extensive virus propagation and molecular cloning, and will be a valuable tool for molecular epidemiological studies.
(6) The basic principle of the resonant tool, its adaptation for surgery, the experimental results of its use in animals, and clinical experience are reported.
(7) Colloidal gold immuno-electron microscopy is a powerful tool for defining antigenicity at the subcellular level.
(8) A diversity of serogroups and toxigenicity was a general finding, however, strains found in the proximal gut were also cultured from the rectum, indicating that faecal specimens would be a valid tool in investigating the role of these organisms in SIDS cases compared with healthy controls.
(9) SR 42128 is a potent and long-acting tool for studying the role of the renin angiotensin system in primates and humans.
(10) In this study we propose a method for the analysis of the relationship between heart rate changes and respiration as a possible diagnostic tool for cardiac autonomic damage.
(11) However LHRH agonists alone or in combination with ovarian steroids are of potential value as a research tool.
(12) These findings demonstrate that heteroantisera can provide an additional important tool for dissecting the heterogeneity of T-cell leukemias and for relating them to more differentiated normal T cells.
(13) This model provides a standard nonoperative approach for the induction of intestinal ischemia in dogs and could be a valuable tool in the study of intestinal ischemia.
(14) Before we embark on the next steps of the global technological revolution, we must ensure that the most basic of online tools are accessible to all.
(15) This ion-selective microelectrode may show promise as a useful tool for the determination of intracellular bile salt activity.
(16) Axotomy should be a useful tool for determining which other neurotransmitter receptors are produced by facial motoneurons and efferent neurons in other cranial nerve nuclei.
(17) Given that patient preferences constitute a central concept within the framework of HRQL, further empirical evaluation of utility measures of preference is fundamental to improving the HRQL measurement tool-kit.
(18) This study also demonstrates that pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is a powerful new tool for the analysis of human chromosomal translocations.
(19) In order to maximize the utility of these tools a high degree of reliability is essential.
(20) Extraction tools included flexible, telescoping sheaths advanced over the lead to dilate scar tissue and apply countertraction, deflection catheters, and wire basket snares.