Clifton.
_"I put a spoke in his wheel"_ (Vol. viii., p. 351.).--Does not this phrase
mean simply interference, either for good or evil? I fancy the metaphor is
really derived from putting the bars, or spokes, into a capstan or some
such machine. A number {523} of persons being employed, another puts his
spoke in, and assists or hinders them as he pleases. Can a _stick_ be
considered a _spoke_ before it is put into its place, in the nave of the
wheel at least? We often hear the observation, "Then I put in my spoke,"
&c. in the relation of an animated discussion. May I venture to suggest a
pun on the preterite of the verb _to speak_?