A forum for examining the language of speech and writing.

Whetting the Appetite

Heard someone arguing that the concept is to 'wet' the appetite, because when you are excited about food, you start to salivate, and telling the other person who insisted that it is 'whet', that she was wrong. I applaud the thinking but, the concept is to 'whet' one's appetite. To 'whet' means to sharpen. It is therefore perfectly valid to say, "Exercise, or the smell of my mother's cooking whets my appetite." Interest and desire can also be whetted. So I can say "I recently met a bright, wonderful lawyer and that has whetted my interest in studying law." A 'whetstone' is a stone used to sharpen implements, so figuratively, an overweight man can say 'That good looking girl is a whetstone for my desire to go to the gym."

Are Wont to do/Want to do

If you want to do something it is your desire to engage in a particular action. If you 'are wont to do' something (pronounced similar to font) this indicates habitual/regular and expected behaviour. So my neighbour will give me a headache this morning by starting up his old car and playing loud music as he is wont to do every day. Chances are, however, it is something he also wants to do. Many public figures have special phrases with which they are associated, so, "He ended his presentation with 'God go with you', as he was wont to say."

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