1 of 1- Shorty Wave
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Spanner in the Works?
This morning, (Saturday Dec. 7th), I tuned into CP24 at 7am to catch the headlines. Phil Perkins started the broadcast with a report on transit closures, unfortunately he didn’t know what a spanner was, as “spanner in the works” was in his copy, and said he didn’t know. Seriously? A newscaster should know this kind of thing.
When I tuned back at 7:30, he had changed the copy to “wrench”. Standards have certainly slipped of late, maybe too many layoffs. Still, it threw me!
- Hansa
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
To be fair, it's a British term and isn't used in Canada very much, especially not by anyone under 50. Most of CP24's audience wouldn't know what a spanner is.
Last edited by Hansa (December 7, 2024 9:39 am)
- Radiowiz
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Hansa wrote:
To be fair, it's a British term and isn't used in Canada very much, especially not by anyone under 50. Most of CP24's audience wouldn't know what a spanner is.
What the hell is a spanner???
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- Shorty Wave
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
To be fair, it's a British term and isn't used in Canada very much, especially not by anyone under 50. Most of CP24's audience wouldn't know what a spanner is.
What the hell is a spanner???
That’s what Phil said! So I stand corrected, I thought it was a fairly common word, guess not, sorry Mr. Perkins.
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Thread Starter- Easily Amused
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Remember when journalists and broadcasters were wordsmiths? 🤨
- Lorne
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
To be fair, it's a British term and isn't used in Canada very much, especially not by anyone under 50. Most of CP24's audience wouldn't know what a spanner is.
I agree. I'm certainly familiar with it, but I try to avoid using idiomatic expressions that I figure a lot of people wouldn't know and this definitely falls into that category.
- Easily Amused
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Along these lines, I recall working with plenty of tradespeople originally from the UK, who weren't amused when you showed up with an oxy-acetylene cutting torch, when they had requested their version of a torch. A flashlight.
- Chrisphen
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
You won't believe what those limeys call eggplants. No wonder they lost their Empire.
- RadioAaron
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Remember when journalists and broadcasters were wordsmiths? 🤨
Certainly a traffic report is amateur-hour if it doesn't leave listeners scrambling for a dictionary!
- newsguy1
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
I was listening to a talk show the other day and woman reporter was talking to a space scientist about the next moon mission with the Orion space capsule.
She kept pronouncing it OR-ee-on instead of oh-RYE-on.
The scientist did not correct her. Being polite I guess, but really, a journalist who can't pronounce one of the most famous names in astronomy?
- Binson Echorec
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Remember when journalists and broadcasters were wordsmiths? 🤨
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
On topic, I've seen Perkins make unforced errors repeatedly but I'll forgive this one. Spanner is almost "too British".
I'm guessing nobody gets to review the copy before going to air, which I cannot fathom.
As for the Orion problem - a good guest will pronounce the word correctly after hearing the host bungle it and an even better host will pick up on that and adjust their own faux pas.
(Now I want to hear today's newspeople pronounce "faux pas")
- paterson1
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Good for Phil, I would have no idea what spanner in the works meant either. Has anyone seen the new anchor on CTV News Channel? Don't know her name but she is Australian and has a very pronounced accent. Not far off from the late croc hunter Steve Irwin. Not sure she really fits for an anchor, a reporter possibily?
Same with Akshay Tandon who has been an anchor on the network for for years. Strange mix of accents and phrasing when he reads. Akshay is a very pleasant man, but hard to listen to IMO.
Last edited by paterson1 (December 7, 2024 1:34 pm)
- Chrisphen
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
'Spanner' is also the name of a halfway-decent record by Jah Wobble and Brian Eno.
- 67GreenRambler
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
It's the title of a Rod Stewart album. Have heard the phrase my whole life.
- RadioActive
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
This morning, (Saturday Dec. 7th), I tuned into CP24 at 7am to catch the headlines. Phil Perkins started the broadcast with a report on transit closures, unfortunately he didn’t know what a spanner was, as “spanner in the works” was in his copy, and said he didn’t know. Seriously? A newscaster should know this kind of thing.
When I tuned back at 7:30, he had changed the copy to “wrench”. Standards have certainly slipped of late, maybe too many layoffs. Still, it threw me!
John Lennon once wrote a book called "A Spaniard In The Works." The former Beatle was very fond of puns.
- Hansa
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
It's the title of a Rod Stewart album. Have heard the phrase my whole life.
"it's a British term and isn't used in Canada very much, especially not by anyone under 50."
- Radiowiz
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
You can also take a Lori to the Loo, but she's gonna be parked outside and she ain't no lady.
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- Muffaraw Joe
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
The term "Spanner in the works" is in the song, Industrial Disease by Dire Straits.
At the 57 second mark into the song, 'someone through a spanner in"
Here is the link to the song, oh and for you radio deejays, there is a 56 intro for a time and weather check as you hit the post!
The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
- newsguy1
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Re: Spanner in the Works?
Throwing a spanner into the works was an early way in the industrial revolution to screw up the operations of a company when workers were getting a poor deal.
Workers would throw the spanner into the machinery to wreck it.
The French equivalent was for workers to throw their wooden shoes into the machinery.
Their shoes were called sabot, hence the term sabotage.
- mic'em
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I bought a Norton motorcycle in the 70's. The repair manual , which I had to refer to quite often, always had spanner in the text, never wrench once. Damn Lucas electrics and it's positive ground.
- Calhame
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My late wife got caught up in the British idiom differences.
She came to live in the same rooming house as myself upon arrival from England, which was ran by a middle aged couple.
She was afraid of sleeping through her alarm clock on her first day on her job so she asked the husband if he could "knock her up" the next morning with reference to the British saying to wake me.
Needless to say this caused much hilarity as my late wife was not aware of the Canadian connotation of what she had asked for.