Put your nose to the grindstone to master this commonly confused expression.
A whetstone (or grindstone) is an abrasive block or wheel used to hone a blade. When you whet a knife, you sharpen it. So if the delicious smells coming from the kitchen whet your appetite, they're sharpening or stimulating your hunger, making it acute, putting an edge on it. Whet comes from a Germanic word meaning "to sharpen" and also "to encourage" or "to incite." To say that something whets your appetite is a vivid way to describe the sharp sensation of hunger pangs.As you can see, this phrase is often used in a context where a little bit of something makes you want more of it:
He paced his cage vigorously, and even ignored the scraps of meat that were given to him to whet his appetite. (Tiger, Tiger)
As so often happens in science, their discoveries only whet the appetite for more research, which in turn created a demand for bigger, more expensive accelerators. (Big Science)
The confusion between whet and wet has two sources. First, the expression wet your whistle, meaning "have a drink" or "quench your thirst," can cause people to swap the verbs whet and wet. Second, when something whets your appetite, it makes your mouth water — and water (or saliva) is wet. But when you look at the examples of incorrect usage below, doesn't wet look kind of soggy and unappetizing? To dampen something, after all, can mean to decrease or subdue it.
Blackstone is now considering making a solo offer for the company but bankers said it would have to be at the minimum 2.8 billion euro reserve price to wet Permira's appetite. (Reuters)
We don't learn a whole lot more from the trailer but it may just be enough to wet our appetites until June 12, when Jurassic World hits theaters. (Time)
When speaking, of course, you can't tell the difference between whet and wet. But writers should know better. A tiny taste of something delicious sharpens your desire for food the way a whetstone sharpens a blade.