Sketch new wife holding German adjustable spanner? (10)
I believe the answer is:
drawbridge
'adjustable spanner?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sketch new wife holding german' is the wordplay.
'sketch' becomes 'draw' (to sketch is to draw).
'new wife' becomes 'bride'.
'holding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'bride' placed around 'g' is 'bridge'.
'draw'+'bridge'='DRAWBRIDGE'
(Other definitions for drawbridge that I've seen before include "form of security" , "Barbican may defend this" , "Keep opening" , "Removable access to castle" , "Keep attachment" .)