flutter the dovecote

flut·ter the dove·cote
UK/ˌflʌtə ðə ˈdʌvkɒt/US/ˌflʌtɚ ðə ˈdʌvkɑt/US[-ɾɚ-]

verb

To create a disturbance, usually within a group of people who are generally placid and unexcited.

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Meanings

verbflutter the dovecote (third-person singular simple present flutters the dovecote, present participle fluttering the dovecote, simple past and past participle fluttered the dovecote)

present singular third person flutters the dovecote · participle present fluttering the dovecote · participle past fluttered the dovecote · past fluttered the dovecote · alternative flutter the dovecot · alternative flutter the dovecotes

  1. idiomaticTo create a disturbance, usually within a group of people who are generally placid and unexcited.

Origin

Possibly from Coriolanus (written c. 1608–1609; published 1623) by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616), Act V, scene vi (spelling modernized): “[L]ike an eagle in a dovecote, I / Fluttered your Volcians in Corioles.”

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish robić zamieszanie, zrobić zamieszanie
  • robić zamieszanieto create a disturbance, usually within a group of people who are generally placid and unexcited
  • zrobić zamieszanieto create a disturbance, usually within a group of people who are generally placid and unexcited
Cite this entry
APA

flutter the dovecote. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flutter%20the%20dovecote

MLA

“flutter the dovecote.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flutter%20the%20dovecote. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flutter the dovecote,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flutter%20the%20dovecote.

Source: flutter the dovecote on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.