At yesterday’s seisun I realized a flute player’s tone holes were twisted downwards somewhat as opposed to his fingering holes. Is there any particular reason for this? I forgot to ask him unfortunately. Yes, I am referring to the flute, nothing else…
Turning the embouchure hole towards the player?
What are tone holes?? 
They’re those two holes that are not used for notes but give it tone, on the end of the flute (tone foot joint?). I read that some people may cover them to adjust the tone. Other than that I don’t know…
They don’t ‘give it tone’. They’re relics from keyed flutes with ‘C’ foots still frequently included on keyless flutes to (usefully) balance lined heads or (not so usefully) because some customers demand them for their magic powers!
Right, they’re the vestigial C# and C holes (or D and C# vents, if you like). Their orientation will make little difference to the sound, and may be idiosyncratic, or a matter of habit, or random. A player used to turning a keyed foot to put the keys out of the way might turn an unkeyed foot the same. Or simply not worry about lining things up. Or think that turning the foot toward the listeners might give the D slightly more projection.
Or magic!!
Or keyed flutes with ‘long D’ foots.
Foots? Foots?? 
(Seriously … Is that the common usage? I admit, “feet” does seem odd.)
IMHO probably yes, being effectively short for ‘foot (joint)s’.
You ever heard of 19th century flutes with flat feet?
No, but I’ve heard of flutes with swollen heads.
Oh, wait … No, I’m thinking of flute players. 
Phil Bleazey addresses the isssue on his web site thusly;
“A characteristic of the Irish flute is the foot joint with it’s two open holes left by the removal of the C & C# keys. After many years of making these flutes I have yet to find one which is improved by this redundant joint. Consequently my ‘Irish flutes’ carry my own design of foot joint, which, sadly, means that the Morris dancers have no where to tie their ribbons. I’m sure no one else will mourn the loss.”
Works for me…
Best wishes.
Steve
Have to say I was sceptical (didn’t care for them at all!) till Dave Copley persuaded me on balance grounds, and there’s no doubt that my (four-keyed, lined-head) flute does handle nicely with the long foot. Also quite glad I didn’t get the (‘traditional articulated’) C and C# keys when, despite finding myself reaching for them when I’d just got the flute, they’d simply not sit right for me with the Eb key set close to the R3 hole where I like it… in which position the two unkeyed vents are in fact rotated (as per the OP?) a fair bit to the far side.
Ah! There’s precedent for that. That same process was how we got a ‘pair of pant(aloon)s’.
I don’t think we want to know how you got your pair of pantaloons. Too much information …
I don’t think we want to know how you got your pair of pantaloons. Too much information …
>
Or worse,The Ladies’ Pantalettes! 
Then I suggest that from now on we use the proper Greek term for “foot joint”: Arthropod.
As in, “Stop bugging me, you crab. If you don’t move your chair a few inches to the right, I’m going to impale your head with my fully keyed arthropod.”
Another fully keyed arthropod, obviously attempting to play a crab canon:
Nope, that’s the “leg” usage http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/πούς
Crab canon?
Best wishes.
Steve
Completely off-topic, but I couldnt help hearing that as delivered by a certain member of the Blackadder dinasty…