smelled a rat
Grew deeply suspicious
Smelled a rat means sensed something wrong or suspected deception.
The image is of a cat detecting a hidden rodent—you can't see the problem, but something feels off: I smelled a rat when he asked for my password.
Also *smell a rat* for the unconjugated form.
- misgivingsFeelings of doubt
- suspiciousInclined to distrust
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- distrustAbsence of confidence
- trust issuesSkepticism toward others' motives
sixth sense · intuition · cautious · disbelief · fraudulence · skepticism · gut feeling · alarm bells · duplicity · trickery · funny business · wary · deceitfulness · red flag · caught on · called out · uncertain · too good to be true
skepticism vs. credulity
smelled a ratfell for it
smell, smelled, smelling, smells, smelly, smellier, smelliest, smelliness, rats