Smells like a winner

Posted by Pamela on July 07, 2008 at 23:56

In Reply to: Smells like a winner posted by ESC on July 07, 2008 at 10:08:

: : What's the meaning/origin of "smells like a winner"?

: Well, there's the opposite -- the stench of defeat. Flop sweat, etc. That's all I know.

It means that you sense that something is a winner (or a loser or a good investment opportunity - it can apply to anything). The "sense" in question is smell - it could easly be "sounds like a winner" "looks like a winner" or "feels like a winner". "Tastes like a winner"? Well, in the traditional model of humans having 5 senses, taste is the only sense that I've never heard used in this way. Pamela

• Smells like a winner Smokey Stover 09/July/08