I noticed that many writers/people make this mistake. I was proofreading a client’s work recently and noticed this, yet again: WHET for WET and WET for WHET.
• Now, “to whet your appetite” is “to sharpen your desire for food or arouse your interest or eagerness for something”.
Examples:
• His saying that whets my appetite for Fufu and Egusi soup.
• Lionel Messi keeps whetting my appetite to play football.
• Quincy’s first performance whetted my appetite; I hope he performs again.
• “To wet your whistle” on the other hand is “to have a drink, especially of alcohol”. Here, whistle is a metaphor for the mouth itself, so ‘wet’ is the right word.
Examples:
• I’m dehydrated, I need to wet my whistle before we continue.
• I know a perfect place for you to wet your whistle.
• It’s best you wet your whistle at Diddie’s restaurant.
• Funnily enough, TO WET YOUR WHISTLE can also be “to suit one’s taste”.
Examples:
• I like thick girls; they wet my whistle, but my big brother prefers slim girls.
• I love that Jeep, it really wets my whistle.
So an appetite cannot be made physically wet, making ‘whet’ the appropriate term.
Thanks for reading. I hope this helps.
Thanks so much for giving further details and differences about these two confusing words; Wet and Whet. To be very honest, I had no idea. But all thanks to you, I do now.
🙂
Toben Quincy never ceases to amaze us, his students. 🙌
Haha. Thanks a lot! So glad you got value. Expect more!
WOW! Thank you Quincy. This is real good stuff
So glad you got value! Thanks a lot for reading. Expect more stuff.
Thanks for this Toben!!
Thanks for reading!
This is really educative. I learnt something from it right now. Please keep assisting us with grammatical wording.
Absolutely. So glad you got value, expect more stuff. Thanks a lot for reading.
Seeing the word “whet” made me run to my dictionary hastily cos it’s my first time seeing it.
I did gain from this post.
Keep writing Toben
Keep imparting lives
Keep whetting our appetites. We’re always here for you.
Awesome, Eunice. Thanks so much for your time. Expect more.
Amazing stuff here
Thanks for reading, Francis. Expect more.
Wow! I just learnt something new.