Timeline for How does "spanner" come to mean "a wrench"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
25 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2016 at 2:13 | answer | added | Hot Licks | timeline score: 0 | |
| May 12, 2016 at 1:32 | answer | added | pmailkeey | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 22:23 | answer | added | Robbo | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 30, 2015 at 22:40 | comment | added | Hot Licks | @Elian - And the French throw a wooden shoe. | |
| Apr 30, 2015 at 21:18 | comment | added | Sven Yargs | Wikipedia nicely illustrates various wrenches/spanners/grips, so you can see what English speakers on opposite sides of the Atlantic mean by the terms Stillson or pipe wrench, monkey wrench or gas grips, and Crescent wrench, adjustable wrench, or adjustable spanner. | |
| Apr 30, 2015 at 17:30 | answer | added | David Walmsley | timeline score: 3 | |
| Jul 1, 2014 at 10:52 | answer | added | Rupe | timeline score: 0 | |
| Jul 1, 2014 at 8:28 | answer | added | Randy-Andy | timeline score: 2 | |
| Apr 28, 2014 at 7:05 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | @Kris " 'from the other side' " is delimiting. US or UK. | |
| Apr 28, 2014 at 6:44 | comment | added | Kris | @EdwinAshworth Sadly, an "Anglophone" could be from anywhere, though should perhaps be from England by etymology. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 21:42 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | With these mismatches, one has to be very careful when speaking to an anglophone 'from the other side'. I suppose one could try to switch halfway across a transatlantic cruise, 60 years ago. The problem is often exacerbated in niche usages; for instance, the term 'monkey spanner' would be a no-no even in the UK for a non-ribbed monkey wrench. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 20:16 | comment | added | Elian | @EdwinAshworth Americans throw a wrench into the works whereas the British throw a spanner. :-) | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 8:21 | answer | added | Kris | timeline score: 3 | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 7:56 | comment | added | WS2 | @EdwinAshworth The Japanese call one of them a 'supanner', if that is any help! | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 7:41 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | I can't find what I'd accept as an authority for this practice, but often in British the usual nut-tightener with say 4 flat faces (and its ring and other relatives) is called a 'spanner', while the analogues with ribbed faces for gripping where the fit isn't as precise are called 'wrenches'. So, a box spanner but a Stillson wrench – these can easily be differentiated, while you'd have to check for ridges on what the Americans usually call an 'auto wrench' to see if it was an adjustable spanner or an adjustable wrench. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 7:03 | answer | added | rogermue | timeline score: 2 | |
| S Apr 26, 2014 at 6:33 | history | suggested | dynamite | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
formatting to increase readability
|
| Apr 26, 2014 at 6:06 | comment | added | user63230 | @Kris Yup. That'd do it :-) | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 6:04 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Apr 26, 2014 at 6:33 | |||||
| Apr 26, 2014 at 5:15 | comment | added | Kris | @andy256 Because it's another of the many E s. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 5:01 | review | Close votes | |||
| Apr 29, 2014 at 5:53 | |||||
| Apr 26, 2014 at 4:52 | comment | added | user63230 | Why does AE have a different word for spanner? Why do different people call things by different names? | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 4:45 | answer | added | MrHen | timeline score: 5 | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 4:41 | comment | added | Kris | Origin: late 18th century: from German spannen 'draw tight' + -er. oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/spanner?q=spanner | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 4:36 | history | asked | Mason Wheeler | CC BY-SA 3.0 |