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Glite Dictionary
smell you later

smell you later

9.9
To say goodbye in a playful, joking way
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hasta luego
  • He tossed his backpack over his shoulder and called out, 'smell you later,' before leaving.

Examples

  • As they left the party, Tom grinned and said, 'smell you later!'

  • All right, I'll catch you tomorrow. Smell you later!

  • I have to go now, so smell you later!

  • See you at the party! Smell you later!

  • As they finished their drinks, Sam waved and said, 'smell you later!'

  • After a long day at work, Jenna smiled and told her coworkers, 'smell you later!'

  • Timmy shouted 'smell you later!' as he rode away on his bike.

Synonyms

see ya
vssmell you later
  • Texting
∞ 8.4

A friendly way to say goodbye when you expect to meet again

is more playful and joking than a relaxed informal parting
goodbye
vssmell you later
∞ 1.0

Words people say when they leave each other

is more playful and joking rather than neutral or formal
bye-bye
vssmell you later
  • Informal
279 1.1

A friendly informal way to say goodbye when leaving

is more playful and joking than a childlike informal parting
see you later
vssmell you later
  • Informal
95 1.0

A casual goodbye said when leaving someone and expecting to meet again

is more playful and joking than a straightforward casual parting
ta ta
vssmell you later
  • UK
8.7

A casual way to say goodbye to someone

is more playful and joking than a brief informal parting
pip pip
vssmell you later
  • Archaic
9.9

A friendly old-fashioned British way to say goodbye

is more playful and joking than old fashioned British speech

Antonyms

hello
9 1.0

A short greeting you say when you meet someone or answer the phone

Surface Forms

smell you later main

Morphology

smell + you + later

This is a playful substitution of 'see' with 'smell' so the sequence 'you later' signals a future parting; a learner who knows 'you' and 'later' may infer it's a goodbye. However, the use of 'smell' is jocular and non-literal, so the exact pragmatic humour and idiomatic use are not fully predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

Smell you later is a playful twist on 'see you later'; one popular story says friends began joking that they would smell each other instead of seeing them, creating a silly, slightly gross image. That's why today it's used as a casual, humorous way to say 'goodbye'.