smell what someone is stepping in: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  United StatesGeneral Englishinformalcolloquial
  • To recognize or become aware of the unpleasant situation, difficulty, or trouble that another person is entering or experiencing.
  • To understand, often by intuition or observation, the negative consequences someone else is about to face.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Before signing the contract, Jenna could smell what the company was stepping in—a legal quagmire.

    Before signing the contract, Jenna could smell what the company was stepping in—a legal quagmire.

  • He smelled what she was stepping in when she accepted the project with hidden demands.

    He smelled what she was stepping in when she accepted the project with hidden demands.

  • Don’t be fooled by the easy money; I smell what they’re stepping in and it’s trouble.

    Don’t be fooled by the easy money; I smell what they’re stepping in and it’s trouble.