stink to high heaven
Offend every nostril
To stink to high heaven is to smell extremely bad, with an odor so powerful it seems to reach the sky itself.
The phrase extends readily to figurative use, where it characterizes something that seems deeply corrupt, suspicious, or morally offensive: The whole deal stinks to high heaven.
In both senses, the expression emphasizes an overwhelming quality that cannot be ignored or hidden.
- reekEmit strong odor
- fetidHaving foul odor
- foulOffensive or illegal
- smellyHaving foul odor
- rankPosition in hierarchy
scandalous · nose wrinkle · corrupt · shady · dirty laundry · obvious · blatant · fishy · fraudulent · under the table · cover up · smell a rat · bad egg · rotten · dead fish · unethical · unscrupulous · immoral