in fine fettle
English
WOTD – 30 June 2023
Etymology
From in + fine (“of superior quality”) + fettle (“state of physical condition”).[1] Fettle is derived from Late Middle English fetlen (“(verb) to bestow; to fix, prepare, put in place; to prepare (oneself) for battle, gird up; to shape; to be about to, or to ready (oneself), to stay; (adjective) shaped (well or poorly)”) [and other forms],[2] possibly from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”),[3] from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz; further etymology unknown.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛtl̩/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛt(ə)l/, [-ɾ(ə)l]
- Rhymes: -ɛtəl
- Hyphenation: in fine fet‧tle
Prepositional phrase
- In good condition; energetic, fit.
- Synonym: fit as a fiddle
- 1979, Douglas Hofstadter, “Crab Canon”, in Gödel, Escher, Bach[1], →ISBN, page 199:
- Tortoise: [Y]ou're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.
Achilles: Thank you very much.
- 2025 May 3, Katie Martin, “Investors shrink US exposure as America becomes a riskier bet”, in FT Weekend, page 20:
- I did not ask her age, and of course neither should you, but my grandma turned 102 this week and she's in fine fettle, so it's possible it will happen in my lifetime. But we digress.
Usage notes
Also used with other words in place of fine, such as in good fettle and in high fettle.
Translations
in good condition — see also fit
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References
- ^ Compare “(to be) in (good, high, etc.) fettle” under “fettle, n.2”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2023; “fettle, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “fetlen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ “fettle, v.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2023; “fettle, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
- Michael Quinion (March 4, 2000) “Fine fettle”, in World Wide Words.