# smell fishy

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/smell-fishy
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To seem suspicious.

## Examples

- That deal sounds too good to be true and smells fishy.
- He offered to sell me a brand new phone for twenty dollars, which really smells fishy.
- Although the company presented a polished report, the sudden disappearance of their financial records made the entire situation smell fishy to the auditors.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.