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Glite Dictionary
to smell fishy

to smell fishy

2 6.8
To seem suspicious or dishonest
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : oler a pescado
  • When the accountant started to hide expenses, it smelled fishy to everyone in the office.
  • saying something smells fishy

I'm not saying that that this is what it is, but it's it smells fishy like that.

Examples

  • Maybe it was innocent, but it sure smells fishy.

    Blog text (27)

  • My point is, when something smells fishy, it usually is.

    Blog text (14)

  • See if anything smells fishy.

    I Love Trouble (1994)

  • There is too much here that smells fishy.

    Blog text (21)

  • Something smells fishy about this.

    Blog text (21)

  • "Something smells fishy here," Molly said.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Does it smell fishy?

    When I Find the Ocean (2006)

  • Something smells fishy in Denmark (excuse me, the USA).

    Blog text (2)

  • Something smells fishy.

    Superfast! (2015)

  • Smells fishy to me.

    Family Plot (1976)

Synonyms

to smell
vsto smell fishy
  • Informal
308 6.8

To seem suspicious or dishonest

focuses narrowly on suggesting dishonesty or that something is untrue
to sound fishy
vsto smell fishy
  • Informal
1 7.0

To seem not honest or real

relies more on a sensory metaphor to hint at untruthfulness
to seem fishy
vsto smell fishy
  • Informal
1 7.2

To look suspicious or not honest

uses a sensory comparison to suggest dishonesty rather than plain wording
to stink like a mackerel
vsto smell fishy
  • Informal
9.9

Have a very strong smell like old fish or seem clearly suspicious

uses a milder figurative impression to suggest something may be dishonest

Antonyms

genuine
156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

trustworthy
88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

How Suspicious

to reek
26 6.7
to smell fishy
  • Informal
2 6.8

Surface Forms

smell fishy infinitive
smelled fishy past
smelled fishy past participle
smelling fishy present participle
smells fishy third person singular

Morphology

smell + fishy

The phrase uses 'smell' in a metaphorical sense ('seem') combined with 'fishy' meaning 'suspicious', so a learner who knows those senses can often infer the idiomatic meaning. However, the metaphoric shift from literal odor to 'seems wrong' is not wholly compositional or universal across languages, so the connection is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The phrase smell fishy comes from the strong, bad smell of rotten fish at market stalls, so the word fishy became a picture for something that feels wrong. So when something smells fishy, it means 'suspicious'.