smell of the shop

verb

To indicate too distinctively one's occupation or profession.

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Meanings

verbsmell of the shop (third-person singular simple present smells of the shop, present participle smelling of the shop, simple past and past participle smelled of the shop or smelt of the shop)

present singular third person smells of the shop · participle present smelling of the shop · participle past smelled of the shop · past smelled of the shop · participle past smelt of the shop · past smelt of the shop

  1. datedidiomaticTo indicate too distinctively one's occupation or profession.

    […]the acceptance of a consulship is held by the young diplomatic aspirants as an implied engagement to attend to the national trade, to the imminent risk of smelling of the shop

    1851, The Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review
    1 more example

    They may purchase estates, and become squires, and marry women "of condition;" but the way in which their money was acquired must exclude at least that generation. Their money smells of the shop.

    1834, Tait's Edinburgh Magazine
Cite this entry
APA

smell of the shop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20of%20the%20shop

MLA

“smell of the shop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20of%20the%20shop. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smell of the shop,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20of%20the%20shop.

Source: smell of the shop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.