He fears saying anything that might gum up the works.

"Sometimes I find a piece of gum up there, but that is really easy to get off."

Gee - do you think that might gum up the works a little?

Rather than having budget rules gum up health care reform, Congress could separate the two issues.

So they're pretending to go along but really gumming up the works.

The custom goes back about 20 years and gums up the taxi works every day.

Not the best transport, I have to say - bit gummed up in the works - but does the job all the same.

"Here we were going fine until you two clowns gummed up the works."

But what's the culprit behind oil gumming up our engine?

It was the sort of accident that could have gummed up traffic for days.

Maryland's signing might be gumming up the works even further this year.

It'll force you do an extra good job or you'll get your pretty blouse all gummed up.

Moreover, for similar reasons, other channels have also been gummed up.

"Anybody else would have gummed up the exit and buried us."

Then his brain started to get all gummed up.

Barack Obama said today that politics has become too gummed up by money and influence.

Privately, American officials will say that consultations and consensus sometimes gum up the works.

That complicated things immensely, and it's still gumming up the works right now.

They were trying to gum up the works.

And in that area this rule was gummed up.

Ironically it doesn't take a lot to gum up the works."

That not only gums up the sensor, it poses a risk to the patient.

Gumming up the works was just asking for trouble.

Powdered sugar is likely to gum up as well.

"Federal officials seem to go on the philosophy, 'Why keep it simple when you can gum up the works?' "