Found 1 items, similar to To smell a rat.
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Definition: To smell a rat
Smell
\Smell\ (sm[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Smelled,
Smelt;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Smelling.] [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen;
cf. LG. smellen, smelen, sm["o]len, schmelen, to smoke, to
reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf.
Smell, n.]
1. To perceive by the olfactory nerves, or organs of smell;
to have a sensation of, excited through the nasal organs
when affected by the appropriate materials or qualities;
to obtain the scent of; as, to smell a rose; to smell
perfumes.
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2. To detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to
scent out; -- often with out.
“I smell a device.”
--Shak.
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Can you smell him out by that? --Shak.
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3. To give heed to. [Obs.]
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From that time forward I began to smellthe Word of
God, and forsook the school doctors. --Latimer.
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To smell a rat, to have a sense of something wrong, not
clearly evident; to have reason for suspicion. [Colloq.]
To smell out, to find out by sagacity. [Colloq.]
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Rat
\Rat\ (r[a^]t), n. [AS. r[ae]t; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato,
ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw.
r[*a]tta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown
origin. Cf.
Raccoon.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) One of several species of small rodents of the
genus
Rattus (formerly included in
Mus) and allied
genera, of the family
Muridae, distinguished from mice
primarily by being larger. They infest houses, stores, and
ships, especially the Norway rat, also called
brown rat,
(
Rattus norvegicus formerly
Mus decumanus), the black
rat (
Rattus rattus formerly
Mus rattus), and the roof
rat (formerly
Mus Alexandrinus, now included in
Rattus rattus
). These were introduced into America from the Old
World. The white rat used most commonly in laboratories is
primarily a strain derived from
Rattus rattus.
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2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material,
used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their
natural hair. [Local, U.S.]
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3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the
trades, one who works for lower wages than those
prescribed by a trades union. [Cant]
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Note:
“It so chanced that, not long after the accession of
the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is the
German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this
country (in some timber as is said); and being much
stronger than the black, or, till then, the common,
rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter.
The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first,
as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the
government of George the First, but has by degrees
obtained a wider meaning, and come to be applied to any
sudden and mercenary change in politics.” --Lord
Mahon.
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Bamboo rat (Zo["o]l.), any Indian rodent of the genus
Rhizomys.
Beaver rat,
Coast rat. (Zo["o]l.) See under
Beaver and
Coast.
Blind rat (Zo["o]l.), the mole rat.
Cotton rat (Zo["o]l.), a long-haired rat (
Sigmodon hispidus
), native of the Southern United States and
Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious
to the crop.
Ground rat. See
Ground Pig, under
Ground.
Hedgehog rat. See under
Hedgehog.
Kangaroo rat (Zo["o]l.), the potoroo.
Norway rat (Zo["o]l.), the common brown rat. See
Rat.
Pouched rat. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) See
Pocket Gopher, under
Pocket.
(b) Any African rodent of the genus
Cricetomys.
Rat Indians (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near
Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to the Athabascan stock.
Rat mole. (Zo["o]l.) See
Mole rat, under
Mole.
Rat pit, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be
killed by a dog for sport.
Rat snake (Zo["o]l.), a large colubrine snake (
Ptyas mucosus
) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters
dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc.
Spiny rat (Zo["o]l.), any South American rodent of the
genus
Echinomys.
To smell a rat. See under
Smell.
Wood rat (Zo["o]l.), any American rat of the genus
Neotoma, especially
Neotoma Floridana, common in the
Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.
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