'i Smell A Rat.'

[sandyRoe]

A phrase that has found its way into common usage, but what does a rat smell like? Has it an unique pong?

[society]

A dead rat surely does has its own stinky scent.
When you smell a rat you know it's a rat and not something else.

[starone]

If they smell anything like mice it is awful.

[bookbinder]

This might give you a clue, sandy:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070711065227AA8p50W
Some people say that it isn't the rat itself that smells, it's the creature's urine and droppings.

[Ratty2E]

They don't smell like mice, mice stink. Males do have a musk which isn't unpleasant IMO, females don't really smell at all. The males urine can be pretty whiffey especially if they are wanting to mark. But a build up of any animals waste products is going to stink.

[Quizmonster]

The earliest recorded use of 'smell a rat' meaning 'be suspicious' was in a poem by the Poet Laureate, John Skelton (1460 - 1529) complaining of how the clergy could argue that black was white and make ordinary people believe anything.
On the other hand, he claimed they could be as vicious as a cat who - on the slightest hint of the smell of a rat - would catch and treat the creature mercilessly. The clergy, of course, at that time were perfectly happy to burn at the stake anyone who showed the slightest doubt about their claims.

So, the phrase has nothing to do with US smelling actual rats, but rather about a comparison between cats and powerful clergymen.

[murraymints]

Much prefer eau d` goat...lol

[tonyav]

So do I minty.

[homedeeth]

I remember a work colleague said to me "you got a dead rat up your a**e?" when I farted so I suppose he smelt a rat

[Ujjalseo]

It surely has the unique pong. The smell of dead rat is very irritating and intolerable. For for information you can log on to http://www.pestfreesydney.com.au/.

[sandyRoe]

We in Europe should be thankful for small mercies. At least we haven't got Black Widow spiders or poisonous snakes to worry about.