Meanings
present singular third person wets one's whistle · participle present wetting one's whistle · participle past wetted one's whistle · past wetted one's whistle
- idiomaticTo have a drink; to quench one's thirst.
I'll take another glass of the sherry wine, just to wet my whistle, as the vulgar saying is, before I begin.
1876, Wilkie Collins, chapter 9, in The Two DestiniesSynonyms: wet one's beak
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo have a drink; to quench one's thirst.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 润喉, 解渴
- 润喉 (rùnhóu)to have a drink
- 解渴 (jiěkě)to have a drink
Czech svlažit volátko
- svlažit volátkoto have a drink
Finnish kostuttaa kurkkuaan
- kostuttaa kurkkuaanto have a drink
German sich die Kehle befeuchten
- sich die Kehle befeuchtento have a drink
Icelandic væta kverkarnar
- væta kverkarnarto have a drink
Irish do phíobán a fhliuchadh
- do phíobán a fhliuchadhto have a drink
Japanese 喉を潤す
- 喉を潤す (nodo o uruosu)to have a drink
Polish napić się
- napić sięto have a drink
Portuguese molhar a garganta
- molhar a gargantato have a drink
Russian промочить го́рло
- промочить го́рло (promočitʹ górlo)to have a drink
Spanish mojar el gaznate
- mojar el gaznateto have a drink
Welsh gwlychu ei big
- gwlychu ei bigto have a drink
Cite this entry
wet one's whistle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20one's%20whistle
“wet one's whistle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20one's%20whistle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wet one's whistle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20one's%20whistle.
Source: wet one's whistle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.