Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

As part of a header on a website, I'd like to say "Have we whet your appetite yet? " or something of similar meaning. Not being a native English speaker, I'm looking for a short/condensed way of saying the above.

I'm thinking of "Whet your appetite?", but I'm not sure this conveys correctly what I'm saying. "Ready for more?" could perhaps be a good alternative.

share|improve this question
2  
"Have we whetted your appetite yet?" is certainly an informal way of saying "Do you like that? Do you want more?" (note the past participle whetted). But this type of question falls foul of the FAQ. – Andrew Leach Jul 31 '12 at 12:41
1  
@Andrew Leach: It's not a particularly common word to use in the past tense anyway, but I personally have no problem with using whet as a past participle. Google Books has 11 have I whet, against 47 have I whetted, so I might be in the minority, but I'm not alone there. – FumbleFingers Jul 31 '12 at 13:06
@FumbleFingers The OED says that whet as a pa. or pa. p. went out of date several centuries ago. The reason you find people using have whet today is that they conflate it with to wet. The which–witch merger hasn’t helped. – tchrist Jul 31 '12 at 13:39
yup, no problem closing it. I wasn't entirely sure this was the appropriate place to ask. Thanks for the comments – Geert-Jan Jul 31 '12 at 14:10
@tchrist: OED can say what they like - undeniably some people use whet as a past participle. You might not consider this as "authoritative" as OED, but are we talking descriptive or prescriptive here? – FumbleFingers Jul 31 '12 at 14:25
show 4 more comments

closed as not constructive by Andrew Leach, KitFox♦, Mark Beadles, Lynn, RegDwighт♦ Jul 31 '12 at 14:04

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

IMO, you can get away with simply saying, "whet your appetite?", if you employ an ellipsis at the beginning like so:

... whet your appetite?

Without it, the question sounds odd to me. But it all depends on context. Besides your own alternative, you could also try something like "Hungry for more?".

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the suggestion. – Geert-Jan Jul 31 '12 at 14:09

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.