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Glite Dictionary
to wet the shamrock

to wet the shamrock

9.9
To drink alcohol as part of a St Patrick's Day celebration
  • idiom
  • Irish
translation icon : brindar
  • Every year on March 17th, people across Ireland wet the shamrock to honor St. Patrick.

Examples

  • He's planning to wet the shamrock at the local pub with his friends this evening.

  • Tourists were invited to wet the shamrock and join in the festivities during the parade.

  • Let's wet the shamrock this St. Patrick's Day!

  • Every year, we wet the shamrock with friends.

  • Every year on March 17th, people across Ireland wet the shamrock to honor St. Patrick.

  • He's planning to wet the shamrock at the local pub with his friends this evening.

  • Tourists were invited to wet the shamrock and join in the festivities during the parade.

Synonyms

to raise a glass
vsto wet the shamrock
9 3.7

Hold up a drink with others to celebrate someone or something

is for a holiday ritual of drinking aimed at bringing good luck
to raise a libation
vsto wet the shamrock
9.9

Offer a drink in a ceremony to honor someone or a god

is reserved for a holiday drinking ritual meant to bring good luck
to splice the mainbrace
vsto wet the shamrock
  • Archaic
9.9

To have an alcoholic drink to celebrate, often on a ship

is linked to naval tradition and celebrating after hard work, not to holiday rituals

How Drunk

to wet the shamrock
  • Irish
9.9
to sip
127 1.0

Surface Forms

wet the shamrock infinitive
wet the shamrocked past
wet the shamrocked past participle
wetting the shamrock present participle
wets the shamrock third person singular

Morphology

wet + the + shamrock

Knowing 'wet' (to cover with liquid) and 'shamrock' (an Irish clover) lets a learner infer a literal action of moistening the plant, so there is some compositional transparency. However, the phrase refers to a culturally specific ritual—celebrating St. Patrick's Day by drinking—which is not directly predictable from the parts and requires cultural knowledge or exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Wet the shamrock comes from an old custom on St. Patrick's Day: people would dip a small shamrock into a drink or wet it with a drop of alcohol as a way to bless it and bring 'good luck'. So to wet the shamrock today means 'to celebrate St. Patrick's Day by drinking', and the picture of a wet shamrock links the drink to the holiday.