to smell a rat - What is the meaning?

Question

What is the meaning of "to smell a rat" idiom?

Answer 1

 

Idiom Conjugations:

 

Answer 2

Gerund Form of the Idiom:

Smelling a rat can save you from making a mistake.
 

Answer 3

Idiom Usage:

This idiom is fairly informal.
 

Answer 4

Idiom Scenario 2:

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Bill owns a used car business.  One day, a man drives a beautiful $40,000 car onto Bill's lot.  The man asks Bill if Bill wants to buy the car for only $20,000.  Bill suspects that something is wrong with the car.  Bill checks the car.  The car is fine.  Bill asks the man for the paperwork for the car.  Bill examines the papers and gets a bad feeling about the situation because there is just something wrong about the situation.

Bill smells a rat!

Answer 5

Idiom Scenario 1:

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Ned has arrived home after work with a box of chocolates and a large bouquet of flowers for his wife, Grace.  It is not a special occasion.  It is not Grace's birthday.  It is not Valentine's Day.  Ned barely remembers these occasion at the best of times.  This behavior is very uncharacteristic of Ned.  Grace suspects that Ned has done something wrong and the gifts are an apology.

Grace smells a rat!

Answer 6

Idiom Definition:

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"to smell a rat"

to suspect or have a feeling that something is wrong in a situation
 

Synonyms:
distrust, doubtable, dubious, hunch, fishy, problematic, questionable, shaky, suspect, suspicion, suspicious, uncertain, unclear, unlikely, unsure
 
 
This man is literally smelling a rat. - - - - ->