Meanings
- In good condition; energetic, fit.
Tortoise: [Y]ou're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say. Achilles: Thank you very much.
1979, Douglas Hofstadter, “Crab Canon”, in Gödel, Escher, Bach, →ISBN, page 1991 more example
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.
2025 May 3, Katie Martin, “Investors shrink US exposure as America becomes a riskier bet”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20Synonyms: fit as a fiddle
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseIn good condition; energetic, fit.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*fatilaz
- Old Englishfetel“belt, girdle, fettle”
- Middle Englishfetlen“(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)”
- Englishin fine fettle
From in + fine (“of superior quality”) + fettle (“state of physical condition”). 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], possibly from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”), from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz; further etymology unknown.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French frais comme l'œil
- frais comme l'œilin good condition — see also fit
Hungarian jó passzban, jó formában
- jó passzbanin good condition — see also fit
- jó formábanin good condition — see also fit
Spanish en plenas condiciones
- en plenas condicionesin good condition — see also fit
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with in fine fettle
All rhymes →Cite this entry
in fine fettle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20fine%20fettle
“in fine fettle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20fine%20fettle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in fine fettle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20fine%20fettle.
Source: in fine fettle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.