Meaning Detect that something isn't as it should be.
Usage Mostly Britain.
Example
- He's always hanging around outside the women's dorm with a camera. It looks a bit fishy to me.
Pronunciation
Idiom
Smell something fishy
What does "Smell something fishy" mean?
Detect that something isn't as it should be.
Smell something fishy
Britain, 19th century. Deriving from an allusion to things that are ‘as slippery as a fish’.