smell a rat

1. To sense foul play: “They claim they will honor the terms of the contract, but I smell a rat.”

Idioms and Phrases

Suspect something is wrong, especially a betrayal of some kind. For example, When I didn't hear any more from my prospective employer, I began to smell a rat . This expression alludes to a cat sniffing out a rat. [c. 1550]

Related Words

• assume
• believe
• consider
• doubt
• presume
• speculate
• think
• wonder