wet one's beak

Verb

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

1. (idiomatic) To drink a beverage.
   • 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
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   wet one's whistle

2. (idiomatic, gangster slang) To take one's share from the financial proceeds of illicit activity.
   • "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

   Synonyms:

   get a piece of the pie, get a piece of the action