grinding gears
Teeth scraping metal
Grinding gears refers to the harsh, metallic sound made when a vehicle's gears mesh improperly, usually from releasing the clutch too quickly or shifting without matching engine speed: I could hear him grinding gears as he learned to drive stick.
Figuratively, it describes friction or dysfunction in any system: The merger had both companies grinding gears for months.
- shiftingChanging position or form
- teethEnamel-covered chewing structures
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
misalignment · out of sync · clanking · conflict · wear · miscommunication · discord · interlock · lubrication · grating · screeching · gearbox · learning to drive · troubleshooting · cars · misunderstanding · automobile · cog
- machine idiomswell-oiled machine, firing on all cylinders, full steam ahead, cranking up, revving up
- transmission problemstransmission failure, shuddering
- manual transmissionclutch, gearbox, shift, shifter, stick shift
- clutch skillsclutch pedal, bite point, friction point, double clutching, heel-toe