I could not help myself when watching POLDARK BBC TV Young lady asks the blacksmiths to 'FETTLE' a shepherds crook gone wrong . Is there a correlation to blacksmiths and fettling lamps . Having said this I am probably in the wrong forum . my apologies in advance . Michael
The word 'fettle' just means to fix, repair, sort out, bring (back) to a useable state. Up here, even people can be 'fettled' i.e. when someone has transgressed you might hear someone else say something like, "I'll go round there and fettle him, make no mistake..." So, no direct link between shepherds, blacksmiths and lamps. Incidentally, it always amuses me slightly when non-Brits (usually Americans) say, 'fettle with' as in, I fettled with my Tilley X246B yesterday. This reminds me of when they say 'visit with' which makes little sense to me i.e. I 'visited with' Durham Cathedral yesterday. Doink...
Yes, same goes for "I need you to speak with him" on two counts: Confusing needs and wants, and talking with his mouth rather than your own.
Ah now, to speak with someone is perfectly correct, it may sound like it should be to speak to them, but that implies a one way conversation rather than a two way, which is what speaking with someone is. Speaking to someone, or even a group, implies giving instruction, or lecture as in a 'talk'. Another way one can be 'fettled' is by a Doctor - getting 'fixed up'.
