smell of the lamp

9.9

A sign that someone works late and studies hard, or the smell of an oil lamp

idiom

: olor a lámpara

Her thesis, though impressive, bore the smell of the lamp in its detailed footnotes and references.

Examples

After hours of work, his report had the smell of the lamp about it.
The old library retained the literal smell of the lamp from countless evenings spent reading.
The smell of the lamp filled the room with warmth.
I love the smell of the lamp when studying at night.
After hours of work, his report had the smell of the lamp about it.
Her thesis, though impressive, bore the smell of the lamp in its detailed footnotes and references.
The old library retained the smell of the lamp from countless evenings spent reading.

Synonyms

odor

vssmell of the lamp

145 1.9

A strong or noticeable smell, often unpleasant like smoke

also refers to that scent and to signs of late study

lingering smell

vssmell of the lamp

1 3.2

A smell that stays for a long time

can be the same long scent but mainly signals hard late study

How Studious

smell of the lamp

9.9

long hour

68 2.4

Surface Forms

smell of the lamp singular

smells of the lamp plural

Morphology

smell + of + the + lamp

The literal meaning 'odor produced by a lamp' is directly compositional from 'smell' + 'lamp', but the idiomatic reading referring to signs of late-night study is not predictably derived from those constituents and relies on cultural/idiomatic knowledge. An average B1 learner who knows the words would likely interpret only the literal sense and would not infer the figurative meaning, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Smell of the lamp comes from the days when students and writers studied late by oil or wax lamps, and their papers and books took on the lamp's scent. So, if work has the smell of the lamp, it shows 'hard, late-night study' or long effort.