Idioms people don't understand

I have the image of chicken plucking too Glorianny. My mother's family was from Yorkshire as well.

Until today I don't think I've ever heard spitting feathers so thanks again GNetters for enlightening me!
I shall now use it in conversation.

Earlier, someone said that no-one pronounces the p in raspberry.
I do. I was taught by my Scottish DH to pronounce all the letters in words such as February, twelfth, wednesday.
Words such as why, who, what and where pronounced why, hoo, wot and ware grated on his sensitive ears which my DM b1915, pronounced years

I'm a Yorkshire lass too Glorianny and "spitting feathers" meant that one is thirsty. I don't remember it meaning anger at all.

I'm from Yorkshire and "spitting feathers" has always meant someone was thirsty to me. The image I would imagine was common when people plucked their own birds. The feathers fly everywhere and they inevitably are blown about as the plucker breathes. If they open their mouth to do so they are "spitting feathers"

JamesandJon33

An American on the news last night said he thought Biden didn’t have all his facilities. Did he mean faculties?

Yes. I noticed that!! I thought maybe the toilet was out of order!

Here's another:

www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spi4.htm#:~:text=Tony%20Thorne%2C%20in%20his%20Dictionary,came%20from%20the%20armed%20forces.

It may be that the use/meaning has simply changed over time from thirsty to angry. "Spitting feathers" seems to be earlier (Shakespeare) for thirst but "Spitting blood" and "Spitting Nails" seem to have been in use for angry.

I expect usage has mutated meaning.

Interesting link Chardy thank you.

In't google brilliant when it's stuff like this😁

A quick google shows the etymology of font in the baptismal sense is from the Latin fons meaning spring or fountain but as the word fountain itself contains fount I suppose it's a case of you pays your money, you takes your choice.

Thank you for the responses. I always love the geographical ones. I now know that both are correct. And thanks to
www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/spitting-feathers.html
I understand why.

I think ‘fount’ is derived from ‘ fountain’. A fount of all knowledge ; a spring or gushing fountain .

A brief search reveals "font" is from the French "fonte", so I suppose the Americans have it right on this one. It's still annoying!

I don't think it's as simple as Americans not bothering to use the letter u. The words font and fount are related closely enough for fount to be used poetically for font (baptismal vessel) and for fount to be sometimes used for printing font.

Well, I never knew a different version of 'font' existed, so that's something learned.

BlueSapphire

I frequently see the font of all knowledge; I always thought it was fount, and it irrationally annoys me. But I have just looked it up and it seems that they are interchangeable, with font being normal usage in the USA.

That's the Americans who can't be bothered to use a "u" when necessary. And it's really B.... annoying on Wordle!!!

The rise in the use of font for typeface drives me round the bend. A font is a variation of the main typeface design as in Helvetica, which is the typeface name and Helvetica medium/bold, being lighter or heavier than the original Helvetica design, are the fonts.

I frequently see the font of all knowledge; I always thought it was fount, and it irrationally annoys me. But I have just looked it up and it seems that they are interchangeable, with font being normal usage in the USA.

NotSpaghetti

Doesn't a "fit note" say when you will be fit again"?

That would explain its odd name, NotSpag. Thank you!

Except, the surgeon who gave me a fit note when I broke my wrist last year only did it for a month even though the cast had to be on for six weeks and then I'd need another couple of weeks. It was nine weeks before I was fit to go back to a manual job so I needed to contact the hospital about a second "fit note". This struck me as ridiculous bureaucracy and wasteful when they knew perfectly well how long I wouldn't be fit for the paid work I do.

Not the surgeon's fault, I am sure, just some stupid rule he had to apply.

Many years ago the longterm sickness benefit was called invalidity benefit. I can remember someone calling it their infidelity benefit.

An American on the news last night said he thought Biden didn’t have all his facilities. Did he mean faculties?

All very interesting. We have two North Westerners who use spitting feathers to mean thirsty and one who doesn't. Everyone else, including me, has always associated it with being angry.

I’m from the Se/E Anglia and have always understood spitting feathers to mean angry, though it’s not an expression I or my family used.

That's interesting Holly. 🤔

I’m from the northwest and spitting feathers means being angry. Never heard it used for anything else.

I wonder whether the wether hates wet weather?

This is why I love our wonderful, idiosyncratic and befuddling language Gloriannny