wheel

a big wheel: see a big cheese atbig.

a cog in the wheel: seecog.

grease the wheels: seegrease.

reinvent the wheel: seereinvent.

put your shoulder to the wheel: seeshoulder.

put a spoke in someone's wheel: seespoke.

set the wheels in motion do something to begin a process or put a plan into action.

silly as a wheel very silly. Australian

1985John ClanchyThe Lie of the Land Father Tierney was mad. Cracked as an egg, some boys said, silly as a wheel.

spin your wheels waste your time or efforts. North American informal

2001Time As long as our national energy policy is demand-driven…we will continue to spin our wheels.

the wheels come off things go disastrously wrong (causing an enterprise to fail).

2006Sunday Times There is not much a captain can do when the wheels come off and batsmen and bowlers underperform.

wheel and deal engage in commercial or political scheming.

☞ The verb wheel is here used to mean 'control events'. The sense is related to the noun a big wheel, meaning 'an important person who makes things happen'.

the wheel has turned full circle: seecircle.

the wheel of Fortune the wheel which the goddess Fortune is said to turn as a symbol of random luck or change.

wheels within wheels used to indicate that a situation is complicated and affected by secret or indirect influences.

☞ The image here is of the cogs found in pieces of intricate machinery.