What does something fishy going on mean?

If you describe a situation as fishy, you feel that someone is not telling the truth or behaving completely honestly. [informal] There seems to be something fishy going on. Synonyms: suspicious, odd, suspect, unlikely More Synonyms of fishy.

Where does the phrase something fishy?

The phrase originates in the early 1800’s when at a fish market, you would know that is fish is fresh if it did not stink. If the fish had a foul odour then it meant that the fishmonger was being dishonest because only stale fish had an odour. The phrase has stuck on and is popularly used in regular parlance.

Is I smell something fishy a metaphor?

It’s more than a metaphor. The subtle scent of rotting fish raises suspicion. We don’t only become suspicious of the fishy smell itself, but to whatever task that happens to be occupying our attention.

Is something fishy an idiom?

The idiom something smells fishy means that something is not on the up and up, something about a person or situation arouses suspicion. Until the mid-1800s, the word fishy merely referred to something that literally smelled of fish.

Why is it called something fishy?

This is a reference to the fact that fish products do not smell bad until they begin to spoil, but may look completely fine. In other words, something feels wrong in a way that isn’t completely obvious.

What is the meaning of I smell a rat?

Suspect something is wrong
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.

How do you use fishy in a sentence?

Examples of fishy

  1. The whole thing looks distinctly fishy to me.
  2. Is there not something odd and, perhaps, even fishy about those figures?
  3. To me the whole thing seems a little fishy.
  4. People think that it is all slightly fishy because it has something to do with the money market.

What does it mean to sound fishy?

fishy adjective (NOT RIGHT) making you feel that someone is lying or something dishonest is happening: His story sounds a bit fishy to me.

What does fishy mean in text?

FISHY. Definition: Suspicious. Type: Slang Word (Jargon)

Is fishy a Scrabble word?

FISHY is a valid scrabble word.