Dictionary

wet one's beak en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To drink a beverage.
   • Then, very softly, she says, "I'll stick the kettle on so we can wet our beaks." 2005, John Lynch, Tom Water, →ISBN, page 168:
   • “Yo, it's gonna be a few minutes before the acts go on so let's hit the VIP and wet our beaks a li'l bit,” Gotti screamed in Tone's ear over the music. 2011, K'wan Foye, Eviction Notice: A Hood Rat Novel, →ISBN, page 248:
   • Rinaldo . . . is represented as a gluttonous feeder, and rather disposed to quarrel over his meat; liking also to ‘wet his beak’ in generous liquor. 1876, “The Charlemagne Romances: Part 4—Pulci,”, in The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings, volume 22, page 467:
2. (idiomatic, qualifier:gangster slang) To take one's share from the financial proceeds of illicit activity.
   • "See, the thing about the mob, everybody had to wet his beak. . . . I was supposed to give them a piece of my hard work." 2012, Nick Taylor, Sins of the Father: The True Story of a Family Running from the Mob, →ISBN, page 356:
   • "Giorgio," the Don said, ". . . our Family will now serve only as financial advisors to all the other Families. . . . [W]e must protect everyone's money, for which they will let us wet our beaks." 1996, Mario Puzo, The Last Don (2004 Random House edition), p. 5 (Google preview)
   • [I]nvestigators who track organized crime believe that some members have geared up to take advantage of the swift and enormous cash influx . . . looking, as the old Sicilian expression goes, to wet their beaks. 2009 August 30, William K. Rashbaum, “Concern Is High That the Mob May Seek a Cut of the Stimulus Pie”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2021, retrieved 15 Aug 2013:

Forms

Synonyms

wet one's whistle (drink a beverage) · get a piece of the action (take one's share from illicit financial activity) · get a piece of the pie (take one's share from illicit financial activity)