Meanings
- obsoleteTo be suspicious of deception.
Lang.: A ghost ? Where, my lord ?—I smell a fox.
1611, The Atheist's Tragedy, page 3162 more examples
Aſter the Porcupine had liſtened a while to his deceitful Arguments, he made this Reply to the enſnaring Beguiler, Methinks I ſmell a Fox, keep at a Diſtance; your eloquent Flouriſhes have made no Impreſſions upon me.
1754, Aesop's Fables: with his life, and morals and remarks. Fitted for the meanest capacities., page 24[…]when, hearing a little titter in the neighbouring ſchool room, he began to ſmell a fox, and dreſſing him-ſelf again, with a malignant determination of better note for the future […]
1766, The fool of quality; or, the history of Henry Earl of Moreland. By Mr. Brooke. A new edition, greatly altered and improved., page 183Synonyms: smell a rat
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseTo be suspicious of deception.
Cite this entry
smell a fox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20a%20fox
“smell a fox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20a%20fox. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smell a fox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20a%20fox.
Source: smell a fox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.