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smell a rat
Slang Dictionary

rat (on (so)) definition


  1. in.
    to inform (on someone). : Bill said he was going to rat on that punk.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Slang Dictionary

smell a rat definition


  1. tv.
    to suspect that something is wrong. : Keep everything normal. I don't want her to smell a rat. She has never had a surprise party before.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

smell a rat

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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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