To describe how someone is feeling quite well, both physically and emotionally, you could just say that they're "in good shape," "in great shape," or "in good spirits." But when you want to make your comment sound goofy or old-fashioned, you could pick the weird, folksy, somewhat rare phrase "in fine fettle."

We say that someone—like an athlete, musician, or other performer—is in fine fettle, or that they look or appear in fine fettle, or that they do something in fine fettle. Here's the New York Times: "[The dog] survived the flight in fine fettle."

Less often, we get figurative and say that some vehicle, appliance, trend, activity, company, industry, or political party is in fine fettle.

And yeah, "in fine fettle" is a cliché, but it's easy to understand and fun to say. Still, if you want to freshen it up, here are a few ideas:

1. You could extend the phrase from "in fine fettle" to "in fine something else and fettle," as in "She's in good spirits and fettle." Here's the Guardian: "Everyone in the team has been in good humour and fettle."

2. You could swap out "fine" for some unexpected adjective. Bonus points if you maintain the alliteration. "He's in frumpy fettle." "It's Christmas and my house is in fa-la-la-la fettle." Here's the New Yorker: "At forty-five, [Matt Damon] remains in frightening fettle."

3. You could use the phrase sarcastically or ironically. "Don't mind the siren-like beeping and the rhinoceros-like thumping; my washer is in fine fettle." Here's the Washington Post: "D.C. will be back to its usual traffic — vacations over, school in session, everyone in fine fettle, the roads a steaming cauldron of rage and despair."

"The industry does not look in fine fettle. Firms were overconfident, building too much production capacity. Returns on invested capital... have slumped."
  — The Economist, 20 August 2016

"Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) pulls off his most amazing stunt to date by finding a functioning phone booth near Piccadilly Circus. Cruise is in excellent fettle, relaxing like a high-wire artist into the tensest of predicaments." 
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 31 July 2015

has this page helped you understand "fettle"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "fettle" without saying "mood" or "circumstances."

try it out:

To my ears, the word "fettle" sounds strange and out of date. That's why it makes me laugh.

I'm pretty sure that laughter was what Vic Marks was going for when he used the word "fettle" while describing this game of cricket:

"Despite their disciplined start the Indian pacemen lacked pace, the spinners lacked spin and eventually the fielders lost focus. To make matters worse for the tourists both batsmen were not far from their finest fettle."

I mean, wordplay is afoot here, right? Listen to that exaggerated alliteration: "fielders... focus... far from their finest fettle."

With this in mind as an example, describe how you might use the word "fettle" today in your conversation or written messages to give someone an unexpected laugh.

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Name the Game!"

I'll share some tidbits about a particular board game with a one-word name, and you try to name it. 

You can scroll all the way down to see the game's real name. Maybe you'll come up with the correct name, or one that’s just as apt!

Try this one today:

The game's name is 2 syllables.

It starts with P.

"Piece together a quilt and leave no holes to become the button master."

review this word:

1. A near opposite of FETTLE could be

A. SILENCE.
B. OBLIVION: a state of non-being.
C. TREPIDATION: a state of fear or trembling.

2. In a hilarious essay titled "Do your bit for the rich. Sell your body parts," Kevin McKenna wrote, "Before another half century has elapsed many, many more of us will live to be 100 years old... Huzzah, we're all _____ good fettle and the perpetuation of the species is not under any imminent threat."

A. at
B. on
C. in

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. C From the game: Patchwork.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.