whet your appetite

Meaning

Literally, this means to stimulate or sharpen your physical desire for food, often through a small appetizer or a delicious smell. Figuratively, it means to stimulate interest, curiosity, or desire for something else (like a book, movie, or travel) by giving a small preview. The word "whet" means to sharpen, though it is frequently misspelled as "wet".

Examples

• The delicious aroma of garlic and herbs from the kitchen really helped to whet my appetite.

  The delicious aroma of garlic and herbs from the kitchen really helped to whet my appetite.

• They served a small glass of sparkling wine to whet our appetite before the main courses arrived.

  They served a small glass of sparkling wine to whet our appetite before the main courses arrived.

• This short movie trailer is just enough to whet your appetite for the full-length feature film.

  This short movie trailer is just enough to whet your appetite for the full-length feature film.

• The introductory chapter of the book was designed to whet the reader's appetite for the mystery.

  The introductory chapter of the book was designed to whet the reader's appetite for the mystery.

• A quick walk in the cold mountain air will certainly whet your appetite for dinner.

  A quick walk in the cold mountain air will certainly whet your appetite for dinner.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ The smell of baking bread wet my appetite.

  ✓ The smell of baking bread whet my appetite.

  "Whet" (to sharpen) is homophonic with "wet" (moist), leading to this extremely common spelling error even among native speakers.

• ✗ I ate a huge burger to whet my appetite.

  ✓ I ate a small olive to whet my appetite.

  You whet an appetite with something small to make you hungrier; eating a huge meal satisfies or ruins your appetite.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The chef sent out a small complimentary amuse-bouche to ___ before the meal.

  💡 To stimulate hunger or interest.

  Show answer

  whet our appetite

• Don't show him the whole plan yet; just give him a few details to ___.

  💡 Figurative use meaning to trigger curiosity.

  Show answer

  whet his appetite