"fettle" is a perfectly acceptable word in written English
It is usually used to mean a state of health, fitness, or acceptability, or to prepare something for use. You can use it in both the adjective and verb forms. For example, "After a few repairs, the car was in fettle again and ready to take back on the road."
While Rome is Federer's "losingest" tournament, with 15 ducks from 15 innings (and three futile finals), in dismissing the skittish Czech for the 14th time he confirmed he is in excellent fettle.
Sweet smelling and in fine fettle, you knew only something good would eventually come from these piles of decomposing vegetation.
JUDGED by their giant compensation bills, Wall Street's banks are in fine fettle.
Parts of it are in fine fettle.
Moreover, the expansion was driven by domestic demand, which creates the potential for other euro-zone countries to increase their exports to Germany; indeed, net trade (exports less imports) subtracted from German growth.But though the euro zone's biggest economy is in fine fettle, that is not the case for its second- and third-largest.
ON THE face of things, Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) has reached its 200th birthday in fine fettle.
His party then conspicuously splintered early this month on the issue of the European Union reform treaty, which Mr Clegg, unlike many of his own MPs, believes should be ratified without a referendum.Yet for all this the Lib Dems find themselves in reasonable fettle.
"Not only is he in fine fettle, not only is he not wounded, he's pricked enough to be angry".The good news has also halted Mr Bush's fall in the opinion polls.
It has not sought pan-Asian tie-ups either.On the surface at least, this independent streak has kept it in fine fettle.
This would neatly illustrate a familiar tale of industrial tailspin were the industry not in such fine fettle.
A disillusioned public felt cheated, and last June took revenge on Fianna Fail at the ballot box.In fact Mr McCreevy is leaving his successor a remarkable legacy: an economy in fine fettle.
