What does it mean I smell a rat?

What does it mean I smell a rat?

idiom. to recognize that something is not as it appears to be or that something dishonest is happening: He’s been working late with her every night this week – I smell a rat! SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.

Where does the phrase I smell a rat come from?

The idiom smell a rat dates back to one of the oldest methods of controlling the rat population–a cat. The idiom to smell a rat is a reference to a cat’s sense of smell. The earliest uses of this phrase involves not only a rat, but a cat.

Can you smell a rat?

And of course, there’s the rodents’ natural body odor to consider. Because of these factors, homes suffering from rodent infestation commonly have a heavy, pungent, musky stench throughout.

What is the synonym of smell a rat?

synonyms for smell a rat disbelieve. discredit. mistrust. doubt. misbelieve.