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Glite Dictionary
to seem fishy

to seem fishy

1 7.2
To look suspicious or not honest
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : parecer sospechoso
  • Something seems fishy.

Examples

  • I don't know if this is a scam or not; it does seem fishy to me.

    Blog text (4)

  • Several things seem fishy about the story.

    Blog text (13)

  • Um, there is an offer for 1.8, but it... it seems fishy.

    Bounce (2000)

  • The whole thing seems fishy," she said.

    Blog text (27)

  • If something seems fishy, it's probably a scam.

    Blog text (18)

  • Something seems fishy about this installment.

    Blog text (17)

  • The story seems fishy as written, but I don't doubt the intent (whether it's true or not)...

    Blog text (28)

  • The proposal seemed fishy to the investigators, raising their suspicions.

  • When his explanation changed, it began to seem fishy to everyone involved.

  • The sudden change in the company's policies made many employees seem fishy about the management's intentions.

Synonyms

to smell fishy
vsto seem fishy
  • Informal
2 6.8

To seem suspicious or dishonest

expresses clearer suspicion rather than only an impression
to sound fishy
vsto seem fishy
  • Informal
1 7.0

To seem not honest or real

shows milder general doubt rather than clear untrustworthiness

How Suspicious

to reek
26 6.7
to smell
  • Informal
308 6.8
to seem fishy
  • Informal
1 7.2

Surface Forms

seem fishy infinitive
seemed fishy past
seemed fishy past participle
seeming fishy present participle
seems fishy third person singular

Morphology

seem + fishy

The meaning 'to appear suspicious' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'seem' (to appear) with 'fishy' (suspicious/dubious). Assuming a B1 learner already knows the adjective 'fishy' in the sense of 'suspicious', the phrase is fully compositional and thus immediately interpretable.

Etymology

Seem fishy may come from the simple idea of a bad fish smell. If a fish smells wrong, you know something is off, so when something seems fishy it looks 'suspicious' or not honest.