See stink like a mackerel in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "stinks like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "stinking like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "stank like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "stunk like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "stink<,,stank,stunk> like a mackerel"
},
"expansion": "stink like a mackerel (third-person singular simple present stinks like a mackerel, present participle stinking like a mackerel, simple past stank like a mackerel, past participle stunk like a mackerel)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "45 55",
"word": "stink like a polecat"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English similes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To reek; to smell terrible."
],
"id": "en-stink_like_a_mackerel-en-verb-OD2flhwb",
"links": [
[
"reek",
"reek"
],
[
"smell",
"smell"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile) To reek; to smell terrible."
]
},
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{
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"source": "w+disamb"
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],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1965, Fleet Owner - Volume 60, page 8:",
"text": "In summary, I think that the waterfront situation \"stinks like a mackerel in the hot sunlight.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1977, Bartholomew Gill, McGarr and the politician's wife: a mystery novel, page 57:",
"text": "In spite of the pipe he drew on so often that he seemed forever wrapped in a cloud of acrid blue smoke, Murphy stank like a mackerel.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1998, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs, Investigation of illegal or improper activities in connection with the 1996 federal election campaign:",
"text": "Well, then it talks about Senator Durbin and Senator Susan Collins exposing the tax credit, as they termed, that \"shines and stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight,\" to quote Time magazine, which would have offset industry costs and a now-ill-fated tobacco deal had brought it to the light of day.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2006, John Sandford, Dead watch, page 149:",
"text": "lf some goof thought he was doing it on my behalf, the murder'll stink like a mackerel in the sunshine and screw up our lives forever.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2010, David Crump, The Holding Company:",
"text": "That argument stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight!",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Sharon Penman, Here Be Dragons:",
"text": "Because de Braose's name stinks like a mackerel in the sun; I'd have thought the foul smell sure to've reached even as far as Normandy.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To smell fishy, to stink to high heaven (to look extremely suspicious or unconvincing)."
],
"id": "en-stink_like_a_mackerel-en-verb-yf7MlNp0",
"links": [
[
"smell fishy",
"smell fishy"
],
[
"stink to high heaven",
"stink to high heaven"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile, figuratively) To smell fishy, to stink to high heaven (to look extremely suspicious or unconvincing)."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "45 55",
"word": "stink like a mackerel in the sun"
},
{
"_dis1": "45 55",
"word": "stink like a mackerel in the moonlight"
}
],
"word": "stink like a mackerel"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English verbs",
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"forms": [
{
"form": "stinks like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
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]
},
{
"form": "stinking like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"participle",
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]
},
{
"form": "stank like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "stunk like a mackerel",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "stink<,,stank,stunk> like a mackerel"
},
"expansion": "stink like a mackerel (third-person singular simple present stinks like a mackerel, present participle stinking like a mackerel, simple past stank like a mackerel, past participle stunk like a mackerel)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "stink like a polecat"
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],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English similes"
],
"glosses": [
"To reek; to smell terrible."
],
"links": [
[
"reek",
"reek"
],
[
"smell",
"smell"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile) To reek; to smell terrible."
]
},
{
"categories": [
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"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1965, Fleet Owner - Volume 60, page 8:",
"text": "In summary, I think that the waterfront situation \"stinks like a mackerel in the hot sunlight.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1977, Bartholomew Gill, McGarr and the politician's wife: a mystery novel, page 57:",
"text": "In spite of the pipe he drew on so often that he seemed forever wrapped in a cloud of acrid blue smoke, Murphy stank like a mackerel.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1998, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs, Investigation of illegal or improper activities in connection with the 1996 federal election campaign:",
"text": "Well, then it talks about Senator Durbin and Senator Susan Collins exposing the tax credit, as they termed, that \"shines and stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight,\" to quote Time magazine, which would have offset industry costs and a now-ill-fated tobacco deal had brought it to the light of day.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2006, John Sandford, Dead watch, page 149:",
"text": "lf some goof thought he was doing it on my behalf, the murder'll stink like a mackerel in the sunshine and screw up our lives forever.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2010, David Crump, The Holding Company:",
"text": "That argument stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight!",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Sharon Penman, Here Be Dragons:",
"text": "Because de Braose's name stinks like a mackerel in the sun; I'd have thought the foul smell sure to've reached even as far as Normandy.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To smell fishy, to stink to high heaven (to look extremely suspicious or unconvincing)."
],
"links": [
[
"smell fishy",
"smell fishy"
],
[
"stink to high heaven",
"stink to high heaven"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile, figuratively) To smell fishy, to stink to high heaven (to look extremely suspicious or unconvincing)."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "stink like a mackerel in the sun"
},
{
"word": "stink like a mackerel in the moonlight"
}
],
"word": "stink like a mackerel"
}
Download raw JSONL data for stink like a mackerel meaning in English (3.1kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (9a96ef4 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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