View synonyms for smell a rat

smell a rat

To sense foul play: “They claim they will honor the terms of the contract, but I smell a rat.”

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Idioms and Phrases

Suspect something is wrong, especially a betrayal of some kind. For example, When I didn't hear any more from my prospective employer, I began to smell a rat . This expression alludes to a cat sniffing out a rat. [c. 1550]

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April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

smell smeller

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