smell to high heaven
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Related to smell to high heaven: come up smelling like a rose
smell to high heaven
1. To have a very strong unpleasant scent. Can you take this trash out? It smells to high heaven. Ugh, something in this refrigerator smells to high heaven!
2. To be or seem extremely disreputable, suspicious, or corrupt. This deal between the company and the mayor's office smells to high heaven, if you ask me. This town smelled to high heaven before I came in and brought some law and order to it.
smell to (high) heaven
1. Go to stink to high heaven.
2. Fig. to give signals that cause suspicion. This deal is messed up. It smells to high heaven. something's wrong here. Somebody blabbed. This setup smells to high heaven.
smell/stink to high ˈheaven
(informal)1 have a very strong and unpleasant smell: When was the last time you cleaned the dog kennel? It stinks to high heaven.
2 seem to be very dishonest or morally unacceptable: This whole deal stinks to high heaven. I’m sure somebody was bribed.
smell to heaven
verbsmell to (high) heaven
1. in. to smell very bad. This kitchen smells to high heaven. What besides garlic are you cooking?
2. in. to give signals that cause suspicion. Something’s wrong here. Somebody blabbed. This setup smells to high heaven.
smell to high heaven, to
To stink; to be thoroughly contemptible, dishonest, or in very bad repute. Heaven in this term alludes to a great distance; if something that far away can be smelled, it must smell very strong indeed. Shakespeare may have originated the metaphor. “O! my offence is rank, it smells to heaven,” says the King in Hamlet (3.3), “It hath the primal eldest curse on’t; A brother’s murder!”