smell blood | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)To sense that one has anadvantageover anadversaryorrival.1995,Jane Feather,Valentine,→ISBN,page392:Later he intended to continue his goading of Neil. He couldsmell bloodnow; if only he could get the man to fall apart in one of their clubs.1998September 7, Paul Quinn-Judge, “Russian Roulette”, inTime:Smelling bloodin the economic meltdown, the lower house of parliament, or Duma, took the offensive, calling for Yeltsin to resign.2005June 15, David DuPree, “Detroit stalls Spurs 96-79 in Game 3 of Finals”, inUSA Today, retrieved14 July 2011:The Pistons, once theysmelled blood, got more aggressive and the Spurs simply ran out of gas.2008June 1, Nelson D. Schwartz, “The Trouble in Housing Trickles Up”, inNew York Times, retrieved14 July 2011:When buyers do turn up nowadays, she says, “theysmell bloodin the water and routinely offer 15 to 20 percent below the asking price.”

Examples:

EN: I can smell blood.
ES: Huelo sangre.
EN: He only needs to smell blood.
ES: Sólo tiene necesidad de oler la sangre.
EN: Maybe he smell blood pretty quick.
ES: Puede que no tarde en olerla.
EN: Hey, Mike, get some men and round up the cats before they smell blood.
ES: Mike, busca ayuda y rodea a los felinos... antes de que huelan sangre.
EN: They can smell blood a mile away.
ES: Pueden oler la sangre a una milla de distancia.
EN: Once they smell blood, they come after us like vultures.
ES: Una vez que huelen sangre, aparecen como buitres.
EN: Hungry dogs come running when they smell blood.
ES: ¡El olor de la sangre atrae a los perros hambrientos!
EN: The vultures are beginning to smell blood.
ES: Los buitres han empezado ya a olfatear la sangre.
EN: A shark can smell blood a mile off when he's hungry, and Mundt is hungry for our blood.
ES: Un tiburón huele la sangre a un kilómetro cuando tiene hambre, y Mundt tiene hambre de nuestra sangre.
EN: When they smell blood, they attack in mass and can devour an ox or a person... in a jiffy.
ES: Cuando huelen la sangre, atacan en masa y devoran a un buey o a una persona... en un santiamén.
EN: They smell blood.
ES: Huelen la sangre.
EN: I smell blood.
ES: Huelo a sangre.
ES: Huelo sangre.
EN: They really smell blood on this one.
ES: Huelen la sangre.
EN: They smell blood, and we must feed them something now.
ES: Huelen la sangre, y debemos alimentarles de alguna manera.
EN: I smell blood of an asylum
ES: Huelo sangre de un asilo

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