gum up the works

idiom

informal

: to prevent something from working or flowing properly

Some dirt got inside the gears and gummed up the works.

The new regulations have really gummed up the works in the office.

Examples of gum up the works in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Screenwriters, who were treated by the front office as the disposable help, got a measure of revenge by portraying their employers as idiots or vulgarians whose sole role in filmmaking was to write the checks and gum up the works. —Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025

They get paid millions of dollars and gum up the works. —Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register, 21 Mar. 2025

For a number of reasons, too many of them can gum up the works and make the muscles less responsive to signals from the brain, producing what’s called peripheral fatigue. —Outside Online, 16 Jan. 2025

Every time Freedom Caucus members gum up the works for Republicans, Jeffries is able to paint it as Republican ineptitude rather than having to answer questions about Democratic obstruction. —Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025

Rhymes for gum up the works

• artworks
• breastworks
• brickworks
• earthworks
• fireworks
• frameworks
• gasworks
• glassworks
• headworks
• networks
• outworks
• steelworks