be fishy

informal To be highly dubious or suspicious; to seem not to be aboveboard. I don't know if you should buy the car. The guy selling it was being really fishy the whole time. Don't you think it's a little fishy how eager he is to be in charge of the accounts? A: "Their numbers don't match up with the taxes they've paid." B: "Hmm, something's fishy then."

fishy

informal Highly dubious or suspicious; seeming to not be aboveboard. I don't know if you should sign that contract, it seems a bit fishy to me. Don't you think it's a little fishy how eager he is to be in charge of the accounts? Hmm, that was fishy. I could hear voices until I knocked on the door—then, silence.

fishy about the gills

slang Hung-over. A: "How are you feeling after your night of partying?" B: "Ugh, fishy about the gills—I've been throwing up all morning!" A long night of drinking will leave you feeling fishy about the gills. A: "You turned 21 yesterday? Well, you must feel fishy about the gills today." B: "Yep, sure do. Ugh."

fishy story

An explanation that seems highly dubious or suspicious. He gave me some fishy story about being with a friend from out of town, but I think he's really having an affair. Tell me where the money is, and don't give me any fishy stories! If any of the students don't have their assignment and give you a fishy story about it, give them an F.

smell fishy

To seem suspicious of being improper, untoward, or duplicitous. A: "Their numbers don't match up with the taxes they've paid." B: "Hmm, something smells fishy." He thought Janet's response seemed a bit fishy, so he did a bit of investigation into her role in the company.

See also: fishy, smell

sound fishy

To seem suspicious of being improper, untoward, or duplicitous. A: "Their numbers don't match up with the taxes they've paid." B: "Hmm, that sounds fishy." He thought Janet's response sounded a bit fishy, so he did a bit of investigation into her role in the company.

smell fishy

to seem suspicious. Barlowe squinted a bit. Something smells fishy here, he thought. something about the deal smelled fishy—too good to be true.

See also: fishy, smell

smell fishy

Be suspect or suspicious, as in His explanation definitely smells fishy; my guess is that he's lying. This idiom alludes to the fact that fresh fish have no odor but stale or rotten ones do. [Early 1800s]

See also: fishy, smell

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fishy

mod. dubious; questionable; likely to be improper or illegal. (see also smell fishy.) That was a pretty fishy story you told us.

smell fishy

in. to seem suspicious. (see also fishy.) Marlowe squinted a bit. Something smells fishy here, he thought.

See also: fishy, smell

smell fishy, to

To be suspect. This term, which refers to the fact that fresh fish do not smell but stale or rotten ones do, has been around since the early nineteenth century. J. G. Holland explained it explicitly (Everyday Topics, 1876): “Fish is good, but fishy is always bad.” The metaphor turns up in James Payn’s Confidential Agent (1880): “His French is very fishy.”