ruffle some feathers
"ruffle-some-feathers" is a 18-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ruffle some feathers” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 20
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause a disturbance; to arouse resentment, anger, or concern.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ruffle-some-feathers · ruffle some feathers · English
ruffle some feathers · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 20 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ruffle some feathers |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 20 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ruffle some feathers” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ruffle some feathers is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To cause a disturbance; to arouse resentment, anger, or concern.".
No misspelling variants are generated for ruffle some feathers in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Evoking the image of roosters, who ruffle their neck feathers when threatened. OED's earliest attestation is from 1829. Perhaps a variant of an earlier phrase "ruffle the tempers", attested since at least 1722. The correct English form is ruffle some feathers, spelled R-U-F-F-L-E- -S-O-M-E- -F-E-A-T-H-E-R-S.
Definition
- 1To cause a disturbance; to arouse resentment, anger, or concern.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ruffle some feathers appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Any frank discussion of politics is sure to ruffle some feathers.
They were all aware that there had lately been some discussion which had ruffled the feathers of the aristocracy […] He had, indeed, no wish to ruffle the feathers of gentlemen who might render assistance to them; and if he could stand between the two parties, and make peace, most happy would he be to do so.
Etymology
Evoking the image of roosters, who ruffle their neck feathers when threatened. OED's earliest attestation is from 1829. Perhaps a variant of an earlier phrase "ruffle the tempers", attested since at least 1722.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.