wet whistle
wet (one's) whistle
To have something to drink. I'm parched. I'm going to need to wet my whistle before we go on. If you're looking for Barney, he's down at the pub wetting his whistle.
See also: wet, whistle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
wet one's whistle
Rur. to take a drink. He stopped at the bar to wet his whistle. I don't need a big glass of water. Just enough to wet my whistle.
See also: wet, whistle
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
wet (one's) whistle
Informal To take a drink.
See also: wet, whistle
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
wet one's whistle, to
To have a drink. It is very difficult to whistle with dry lips. An old children’s party game involves eating some dry crackers or bread and attempting to whistle; the first to succeed in doing so wins a prize. The term has been around since the fourteenth century. It appeared in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: “So was her joly whistle wel y-wet” (The Reeve’s Tale).
See also: wet
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be out of (one's) head
- address (one's) comments to (someone or something)
- address comments or remarks to
- address (one's) remarks to (someone or something)
- be in it for
- away from it all
- be at a disadvantage
- at a disadvantage
- be strong on (something)
- be pressed for time