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Meaning & use

wet work

noun·Advancedeuphemistic

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UK/ˈwet ˌwɜːk/
US/ˈwet ˌwɝːk/

Meanings

  1. noununcountableeuphemisticslang

    A euphemism for murder or assassination, especially when carried out by or for a spy agency or criminal group.

    Grammar: Used without an or a plural: he did the wet work, not a wet work.

    Patterns

    • do the wet work
    • wet work for someone

    In the novel, the agent was hired for wet work in a foreign capital.

    The documentary described a unit that carried out wet work for the regime.

    Critics accused the agency of using contractors for wet work.

  2. noununcountabletechnical

    Work in which a person's hands or body are regularly in water or other liquids, such as washing dishes or cleaning.

    Grammar: Used without an or a plural: there is a lot of wet work.

    Patterns

    • wet work in something
    • avoid wet work

    Hairdressers do a lot of wet work, which can dry the skin.

    Gloves protect nurses' hands during wet work.

    The job involved heavy wet work in the kitchen.

Common combinations

do wet work
The agent was sent to do wet work abroad.
specialist in wet work
The spy novel featured a specialist in wet work.
wet work and dermatitis
Health officials warn that wet work can cause dermatitis.
avoid wet work
The doctor told her to avoid wet work while her hands healed.
a lot of wet work
Cleaning boats involves a lot of wet work.

Synonyms and how they differ

assassination
Assassination is the neutral, direct word for killing a prominent person, while wet work is an indirect euphemism from spy slang.
hit
Hit is a blunt slang term for a planned killing, whereas wet work is more cold and professional in tone.
liquidation
Liquidation is an official-sounding word for eliminating enemies, while wet work sounds more like an insider's code.

Opposites

dry work

Word family

wet adjective
covered with liquid, and in this slang, bloody
work noun
labor or a task
wetting noun
the act of making something wet

Commonly confused: wet work or wet job?

wet work vs wet job

A wet job is another form of the same spy slang meaning, but it is less common than wet work.

Practice

In the spy thriller, the agency hired a stranger to do the ___ that no official would admit to.

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