(a.) To cover or line with a mixture of ore, cinders, etc., as the hearth of a puddling furnace.
(v. i.) To make preparations; to put things in order; to do trifling business.
(n.) The act of fettling.
Example Sentences:
(1) It was a surprise and delight to find something locally grown and in fine fettle.
(2) A separate Haldane “ecstasy index”, based on economic growth, unemployment and inflation, suggests Britain is in “fine fettle.” But wage growth paints a different picture, with earnings remaining stubbornly weak.
(3) But everyone in the team has been in good humour and fettle.
(4) Apparently, Bruce McAvaney tells me, his fastest serve at the tournament was 219, so he's in fine fettle.
(5) My mother, a very good cook indeed, had not, to my knowledge, a book of hers anywhere in the house when I was fettling away at the Aga in my early to late teens.
(6) This method was used to compare the duration of employment in the industry, in "dust exposed" jobs, in "fume exposed" jobs, in foundry area jobs, in fettling shop jobs, and in foundry area or fettling shop jobs, of those dying from cancers of the stomach and lung with those of all matching survivors.
(7) Well it's not showing on your figure, Chris, you look to be in fine fettle.
(8) oh god May 14, 2014 Boy George (@BoyGeorge) I'm loving 'World Peace Is None Of Your Business @itsmorrissey in fine fettle!
(9) Russia's film industry has looked in fine fettle until recently, with homegrown films such as Day Watch and Night Watch competing with US products at the domestic box office.
(10) The adduct levels were low in men in pattern making, melting, and fettling.
(11) "We are sorry to see Matthew go," said Andrew Neil, chairman and editor in chief of the Spectator, "but he is an exceptional journalist with many demands on his talents and he leaves behind a magazine in fine fettle.
(12) Manchester United had seven recognised defenders starting the game, while Arsenal were in fine fettle, Robin van Persie fit, Andrey Arshavin performing well, and Laurent Koscielny forming a decent partnership with Johan Djourou at the back.
(13) Thanks to GBBO , cake-fettling has crept into the national consciousness – yet I somehow don't find myself being offered muffins at the pub.
(14) Public engagement on the Europe issue is in fine fettle.
(15) And, despite predictions that the event would suffer because of competition from the London Olympics, and despite complaints that it has become over-commersialised , the Fringe appears (at least at the moment) to be in as fine fettle as ever.
(16) Day One: West Ruislip to Great Missenden, nine miles Ron Ryall, wearing an oil-smudged blue boilersuit, was fettling a cream Morris Minor in his low wooden workshop on a lane where the suburbs of West Ruislip give way to scrapyards, dog kennels and horse paddocks.
(17) While question marks hang over the durability of The X Factor franchise, I'm a Celebrity is in fine fettle with the latest series the second-most watched in the show's history.
(18) Despite the ferocious tone of the battle for his party, he insisted he was “in absolutely fine fettle” and even joked about Cameron’s tribute to his cat at the outgoing prime minister’s final appearance in the Commons last week.
(19) Scotland's leader was in rude fettle on Saturday, tilting at the Tories and Labour's quislings in turn, and announcing a couple of crowd-pleasers – the establishment of a fair work commission to guarantee a minimum wage that rises with inflation and reiterating the renationalisation of Royal Mail under his government in an independent Scotland.
(20) Atos and G4S questioned by MPs: Politics live blog 10.23am GMT Jeremy Cook , chief economist of World First , the currency exchange firm, reckons the UK ended the year in 'fine fettle', even though the service sector provided much of the growth, again.... “The 0.3% fall in construction output will be a concern, but I would hope that an increased level of investment throughout 2014 should reverse this."
Mettle
Definition:
(n.) Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.
Example Sentences:
(1) Analysts and industry watchers say it is too soon to judge the mettle of Lewis and new finance director Alan Stewart, whose tenure can still be measured in weeks.
(2) His son has yet to prove his mettle on the political stage.
(3) It’s in these barren parts that the Edwards air force base is located, where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time, and where the test pilots celebrated in Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff proved their mettle before going on to become America’s first astronauts.
(4) First of all it puts the prime minister on their mettle.
(5) Our job is to co-ordinate the response, to see that this plays through, at least in the first phase, sweetly.” Nonetheless it is a mighty test for little Malta, which now has to prove its mettle as a European force to be reckoned with, fighting for the interests of the EU above those of the UK.
(6) Arsenal's defeat at Stoke and Manchester City's engagement in the Capital One Cup final meant victory would propel them into second place, a challenge to which teams of less mettle would not have risen.
(7) She is the founder and chief executive of Spark+Mettle , a charity that aims to help people flourish.
(8) Whether we have had the mettle to stay the course in delivering effective government for our country at a time of crisis.
(9) One of those funded is Discoverables Ltd, a company limited by shares set up by youth charity Spark+Mettle.
(10) He was a leader writer and then senior editor on the Times for the best part of a decade and showed his intellectual mettle as a member of Radio 4's Moral Maze panel.
(11) Visitors can rent a canoe from Thorncrest Outfitters in Tobermory, test their mettle by boulder-climbing in more remote spots, or scramble through caves along the lakeshores.
(12) The former World Bank economist is widely seen as a loyal timeserver, whose priority has been to maintain the Congress grip on power until Rahul Gandhi , a former management consultant still widely seen as yet to prove his political mettle, was ready to take what some see as his birthright.
(13) Michael Aston says: "Gotta feeling Ravens will win handily, not convinced San Fran have the mettle for this type of game against a vicious, tireless D and Flaco has been stellar lately.
(14) We do need to invest – in transport, in communications, in skills and, in fact, in our public services – because unless we have an educated and trained workforce, unless we have healthy workers, we are not going to be able to tackle that pretty grim picture on productivity, which caps our aspiration and caps our living standards.” Having worked closely with Vince Cable, the Lib Dem business secretary who lost his seat in May, and with new Tory ministers keen to show their cost-cutting mettle, she is concerned about whether Javid will put as much emphasis on industrial strategy.
(15) Insurgents have take advantage of Kabul's distracted state, launching some of the large offensives around the country to test the mettle of the fledgling security force.
(16) Such conservatives wanted Boehner to show more mettle in standing up to President Obama, particularly over their desire to see the women’s health organisation Planned Parenthood , which provides abortions, stripped of federal funding – an issue that brought the possibility of a shutdown to the fore.
(17) "Let us bring about a radical turn in the building of an economic giant with the same spirit and mettle as were displayed in conquering space."
(18) The 43-year-old, who entered parliament in 2004 when Congress returned to power, has struggled to convince voters and analysts, as well as many within his party, that he has the mettle for the brutal rough and tumble of politics in the world's largest democracy.
(19) You might think that when you train a skilled engineer to clean furniture – on the basis that the reason for his idleness was that he'd got out of the habit of work, that he needed to prove his mettle with whatever menial task you chose for him – there's a moral case to answer here, too.
(20) And so the performance, rehearsed with the professionals and now played with them, proceeds on its mettle – boisterous and ebullient, ending in applause.