ruffle (redirected from smooths ruffled feathers)

ruffle someone's feathers

Fig. to irritate or annoy someone. I didn't mean to ruffle his feathers. I just thought that I would remind him of what he promised us.

See also: feather

ruffle something up

to raise something, such as feathers, up or outward. The bird ruffled its feathers up and started to preen. It ruffled up its feathers.

See also: up

ruffle its feathers

[for a bird] to point its feathers outward. The bird ruffled its feathers when it was annoyed. My parrot ruffles its feathers whenever it is ready to preen itself.

See also: feather

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ruffle somebody's feathers

to make someone annoyed He wasn't asked to speak at the conference, and I know that ruffled his feathers a bit.

See also: feather

smooth (somebody's) ruffled feathers

to try to make someone feel less angry or upset, especially after an argument I spent the afternoon smoothing ruffled feathers and trying to convince people to give the talks another chance.

See also: feather, smooth

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ruffle (somebody's) feathers

to make someone annoyed or upset Her spokeswoman wouldn't say whether the lawsuit has ruffled the singer's feathers. He tries not to ruffle feathers, and people seem to like to work with him.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form smooth ruffled feathers (to make someone feel less annoyed or upset): The candidate went out of her way to smooth ruffled feathers.

Etymology: based on the idea of a bird whose feathers are not smooth because of fear or excitement

See also: feather