smell a rat

/smˈɛl ɐ ɹˈat/

/smˈɛl ɐ ɹˈæt/

to smell a rat

to begin to feel that there might be something wrong or dishonest about a situation

Examples

1. And this guy, Keven Hunter, as I explained in the book, very early on smelled a rat.

2. He smells a rat when something appears too good to be true.

3. When he died, investigators were called in and soon smelt a rat.

4. She thought she smelled a rat when she saw John slinking away from the scene of the crime.