What does smell a fox mean?

smell a fox

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.26 in modern English

Scrabble Score

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phrase

Obsolete

"Lang.: A ghost ? Where, my lord ?—I smell a fox."
"Aſter the Porcupine had liſtened a while to his deceitful Arguments, he made this Reply to the enſnaring Beguiler, Methinks I ſmell a Fox, keep at a Diſtance; your eloquent Flouriſhes have made no Impreſſions upon me."
"[…]when, hearing a little titter in the neighbouring ſchool room, he began to ſmell a fox, and dreſſing him-ſelf again, with a malignant determination of better note for the future […]"

smell a rat

How to pronounce smell a fox

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