Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
The Database already has an entry for “wet one’s appetite” (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/89/wet/), but I’ve always felt a little uncertain about it since “wet” in this phrase could so easily be a simple misspelling. But tonight I heard a speaker on the local independent radio station say, “We’ve put this project together to get your appetite wet.” That one’s unambiguous – no one gets their appetite/blades/knives “whet.” What I like about this is that the reinterpretation of “whet” in the original has led writers to extend the meaning of the phrase in ways that just wouldn’t work with “whet.” Examples:
This is more than you’ll need to get your appetite wet and to get started.
http://www.codeproject.com/cs/design/razorpt1.asp
She tests the waters at an amateur night at the Skyway Lounge. Her appetite wet, she travels deeper down the rabbit hole to perform in establishments like the Schieks, Déjà Vu, and the Dollhouse.
http://www.readersclub.org/subcategory.asp?cat=2&id=4
I’ll offer a lot of options for your over the new few blog entries that I’ve used in the past to get your appetite wet.
http://www.tarkblog.org/general/519
There will be taster lessons too to get your appetite wet for other types of swing dances.
http://www.balboabattle.com/workshops.htm
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Maybe wetting your appetite is like priming a pump?
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Priming the pump works—I suspect that a lot of these writers are just plainly thinking of salivation.
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I believe the original and correct expression is “whet one’s appetite”:
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ukexpat wrote:
I believe the original and correct expression is “whet one’s appetiteâ€:
Yes, your belief is well-founded—as noted in the Database article cited above. But the point is that the original phrase simply doesn’t work in the reinterpretation I commented on here.
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