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Synonyms

in fine feather

Idioms  

  1. Also,. In excellent form, health, or humor. For example, He was in fine feather, joking with all his visitors. These expressions all allude to a bird's healthy plumage, a usage dating from the late 1500s and no longer very common.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Without benefit of egg, he was born 50 years ago this week in a movie called The Wise Little Hen, and Donald Duck is still in fine feather.

From Time Magazine Archive

As I said, we had a happy growin' time at the Reunion, Josiah bein' in fine feather to see the relation on his side presentin' such a noble appearance.

From Samantha on the Woman Question by Holley, Marietta

The train came in, and at once the juniors crowded en masse round the carriage in which Acton had secured a corner seat, and stood talking to Grim, who was in fine feather.

From Acton's Feud A Public School Story by Swainson, Frederick

"That bird is in fine feather," said Champernoun.

From The Path of the King by Buchan, John

The old fellow was in fine feather and full of jokes.

From At Boarding School with the Tucker Twins by Speed, Nell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.