smell a rat

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smell a rat [idiom]

To suspect that something is not quite right

Example:

The manager told me to sign a blank contract to which she would later add the agreed conditions. But frankly I smelled a rat and said I won’t sign it.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

smell a rat informal to guess that something wrong or dishonest is happening

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

smell a rat

ˌsmell a ˈrat idiom

(informal) to suspect that sth is wrong about a situation

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

smell a rat

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!

© Cambridge University Press 2013

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

smell a rat informal : to think or suspect that something is wrong about a situation
• She smelled a rat when her husband came home with lipstick on his collar.

American English

British English

suspecting and questioning

B1 (Intermediate)

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