wet one's whistle

wet one's whistle (third-person singular simple present wets one's whistle, present participle wetting one's whistle, simple past and past participle wet one's whistle or wetted one's whistle)

1. (idiomatic) To have a drink; to quench one's thirst.
   • 1876, Wilkie Collins, chapter 9, in The Two Destinies:

     I'll take another glass of the sherry wine, just to wet my whistle, as the vulgar saying is, before I begin.

• wet one's beak