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The colloquial Irish- and British-English phrase to wet the baby’s head, and its variants, mean: to celebrate the birth of a child by drinking alcohol.
This phrase occurs, for example, in the following from Bad news for traditionalists: it’s natural to be a hands-on dad, by Jonathan Kennedy, published in The Guardian (London and Manchester, England) of Monday 29th July 2024 [G2: page 3, column 2]:
My neighbour chuckled when I told him I was taking six months off work to help care for my newborn daughter. In the 1970s when he was a young father, he told me, men would go straight from the labour ward to the pub to wet the baby’s head and be back in the office first thing the next morning.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences of the phrase to wet the baby’s head and variants that I have found:
1-: From Hull Police Court, published in The Hull Advertiser (Hull, Yorkshire, England) of Friday 31st January 1845 [page 6, column 1]:
A Kind Father.—Thomas Barker, an officer in the Custom-house, was summoned by a rather pretty young woman, named Hannah Hornsby, the mother of an illegitimate child, the paternity of which she attributed to defendant. Mr. B. L. Johnson appeared on behalf of the young woman, and stated the case. It appeared that the parties had kept company with each other for a long time, and when the result of their too intimate connexion became too apparent to be concealed, their intimacy still continued. Before Hannah was confined, Barker presented her with ten shillings and some linen, and he continued to visit her after the birth of her child, and during the whole period of her confinement. He bought a bottle of rum, to “wet the child’s head with,” as he termed it; bought the mother a bottle of wine, and, on one occasion, took a foreign captain with him to admire his mistress and her baby.
2-: From an account of an inquiry 1 into the conduct of the Governor of the Andover Union, a workhouse in Andover, Hampshire, England—account published in The Saint James’s Chronicle, Whitehall, and General Evening Post (London, England) of Tuesday 26th August 1845 [page 3, column 7]:
—However, here, given the context, the phrase to wet the child’s head is unlikely to refer to a celebration:
Sarah Barret, a miserably decrepit creature, was then led into the room, and, after being accommodated with a chair, deposed as follows:—She was in good health when she first went into the union, but in about a month afterwards she was taken ill with swellings in the legs and hands. This, she thought, arose from want of better living, and from this cause she determined to go out as soon as she could. Was afterwards taken in again, and confined there about three months ago. Witness remained about five weeks after her confinement in a very weak state, without extra assistance in the way of food. […] When witness had neither tea nor beer there was nothing provided but water to drink. Her baby was starved to death nearly, as she had no milk, and was not allowed anything extra for one month after its birth. The medical gentleman ordered arrow-root for it, but it was about a week before it had it. The child laid three days without anything to eat. […]
[…] Witness admitted having had some gin and brandy in a phial bottle, both of them doctor’s bottles, about half a teacup-full, but this was to wet the child’s head.
1 This inquiry took place on Monday 25th August 1845, in the Union, before the Assistant Poor-law Commissioner.
3-: From The Manchester Courier, and Lancashire General Advertiser (Manchester, Lancashire, England) of Wednesday 12th July 1848 [page 447, column 2]:
The End of an Irish Christening.—On Monday, four stalwart Emeralders, named M‘Guire, Riley, Dagnall, and Thompson, were charged at the Borough Court, in conjunction with Mary Riley, the wife of one of the prisoners, with giving the police what they termed “a bating.” It appeared that on Sunday evening all the prisoners had been present at the christening of a young Patlander 2 in Little Ireland 3, when, after the approved fashion of their country, they wetted the child’s head with whisky, and drunk its health in bumpers of the same liquor.
2 The disparaging noun Patlander designates an Irish person; here, Pat is a shortened form of the proper name Patrick.
3 Little Ireland was the name of a slum district (inhabited by poor Irish immigrants) of Manchester.
4-: From Hull Police Court, published in The Hull Packet and East Riding Times (Hull, Yorkshire, England) of Friday 5th October 1849 [Supplement: page 1, column 2]:
THE RESULTS OF “WETTING” A CHILD’S HEAD.
George Weddell Headley, whitesmith, Lowgate, and John Walker, basket-maker, Blanket row, were charged with being drunk and disorderly,—the circumstances of which are as follow:—Yesterday, it appears, Mrs. Walker, the wife of the last-mentioned defendant, gave birth to an infant, and according to custom, to insure the success in life of the child, its “head was to be wet” by something to drink. Mr. Walker invited his friend, the ex-member of the Board of Guardians, to assist in “wetting” the child’s head, and they continued drinking in the house until about twelve o’clock. Mr. Headley and Mr. Walker then went out into the street, the former to go home, and the latter to “show him the way.”
5-: From The Northern Daily Times (Liverpool, Lancashire, England) of Wednesday 14th May 1856 [page 2, column 3]:
Coroner’s Court.—Yesterday the coroner held inquests on the cases reported in our yesterday’s impression, and also upon the body of a child named William H. Davis, whose parents reside in Burlington-street. The deceased was seventeen months old, and died under rather suspicious circumstances, while its parents and neighbours were in drink, from the effects of, as was stated, “wetting the child’s head.” There being no conclusive evidence that the child had been wilfully put to death, the jury, after censuring the conduct of the mother, returned a verdict in accordance with the facts deposed to in evidence.
6-: From The Lancaster Gazette (Lancaster, Lancashire, England) of Saturday 1st October 1859 [page 5, column 3]:
Assaulting a Constable.—On Monday last, Wm. Helme, sawyer, was brought before J. S. Harrison, J. Hall, and C. Johnson, Junr., Esqrs. at the Town Hall, charged with assaulting P. C. Cowell in the execution of his duty. It appeared that on Saturday last Helme’s wife had presented him with an eighth little specimen of humanity, and he had been doing what is called “wetting the child’s head,” and in so doing managed to get considerably elevated.
The first two occurrences that I have found of the variant to wet the baby’s eye are from The Music Hall and Theatre Review (London, England) of Friday 2nd September 1892:
1-: [page 1, column 1]:
We understand that Sam Wright, the popular buffo vocalist, whom Fred Leslie compliments so highly on facial expression, has a new song (all rights reserved), entitled “Wetting the baby’s eye.” He tells us it is to be a fair knock-out.
2-: [Answers to Correspondents: page 19, column 2]:
Sammy.—Considering your recent exploiting at a favourite southern resort, is it possible we shall really be called upon to “wet the baby’s eye?” Can you captain the Ostend boat?
The following two texts evoke the above-mentioned song:
1-: An account of the smoking concert that took place during the Redhill Harriers’ prize distribution on Wednesday 17th May 1893—account published in the Surrey Mirror (Reigate, Surrey, England) of Saturday 20th May 1893 [page 2, column 3]:
“Wetting the baby’s eye,” a roystering song in his best “drunken” style was next given by Mr. Sam Wright.
2-: An account of the dinner that took place at Reigate, Surrey, on Friday 15th September 1893, to entertain two competing cricket teams—account published in the South London Journal (London, England) of Saturday 23rd September 1893 [page 4, column 3]:
The High Sheriff, who was heartily received, said he felt some difficulty in rising from “Wetting the baby’s eye” (the name of a song which had just been rendered by Mr. Sam Wright) to the more sober toast of “The Mayor and Corporation of the Borough of Reigate” (laughter).
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