Smell Blood (in the Water).
English
idiom
To recognize a weakness in someone that you can take advantage of.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To recognize a weakness in someone that you can take advantage of.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To sense that someone is weak or vulnerable and prepare to take advantage of them.
When someone smells blood in the water, they detect an opportunity to win, attack, or dominate because the other side is struggling.
It is used in competitive business, sports, or political situations.
"Go in for the Kill"
—
To make a final decisive move to defeat someone
"Kick Someone While They're Down"
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To attack someone who is already suffering
"Smell Blood (in the Water)"
—
To detect weakness in an opponent and prepare to exploit it
The client looked shaky in that meeting — I could feel the other agency smelling blood in the water.
We need to fix those numbers before the next round or we'll lose the contract.
You don't seem yourself today — are you okay?
I need to pull it together — people at work smell blood in the water and I can't show any weakness.
The moment we dropped our price, every competitor smelled blood in the water and undercut us even further.
That's brutal — a race to the bottom nobody wins.
