SMELL TEST Definition & Meaning

smell test

[ smel test ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the practice of determining the freshness of fish or other food with the nose rather than the eye.
an instinctive assessment of whether someone or something is ethical and genuine or deceptive and corrupt.

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of smell test¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

pass the smell test, to be found ethical or genuine, typically by an instinctive sense or quick, informal assessment (usually used in the negative):
Their next concern was would she pass the smell test? Although the age of the painting was scientifically verified, it didn’t pass the smell test with art historians.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Patel's critics argue that he does not pass the smell test.

From

“If it doesn’t pass the smell test, or if it sounds too good to be true — call my office for God’s sakes, I’ll flush it out for you, but please do not fall for these scams.”

From

Let’s say Alito merely sang the praises of his clerk, and Trump – who has suggested somehow disciplined himself and asked only specific questions about the applicants’ qualifications, this doesn’t pass the most basic smell test.

From

“It didn’t pass the smell test,” he said.

From

The communist digs at the vice president are a specter haunting Trump's campaign and they'd pass the smell test about as quickly as a corpse.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse