reek of
reek of — 慣用語
1. If a situation, event, or action reeks of a particular bad quality, it strongly
充滿；帶有
事件或情況強烈暗示負面特質
If a situation, event, or action reeks of a particular bad quality, it strongly gives the impression that the quality is present — for example, a decision that seems dishonest or an apology that seems false.
The committee's decision reeks of hypocrisy, since they rejected the same plan last year.
委員會的決定充滿虛偽，因為他們去年否決了同樣的計畫。
object: abstract noun (hypocrisy, corruption)
Shanti's sudden offer to help reeked of ulterior motives, so David turned it down.
Shanti 突然主動幫忙充滿了隱藏動機，所以 David 拒絕了她。
past tense: reeked of + noun phrase
From the very start, the whole contract reeked of corruption and hidden fees.
從一開始，整份合約就充滿了貪腐和隱藏費用。
Eli's apology reeked of insincerity, and Maeve did not accept it.
Eli 的道歉充滿了虛情假意，Maeve 沒有接受。
The government's response to the crisis reeked of greed and ignored ordinary people's needs.
政府對危機的回應充滿了貪婪，忽視了一般民眾的需求。
- smack of
very similar meaning but slightly more informal and less common than 'reek of'
- suggest
more neutral and weaker; does not carry the same strong negative connotation
- be redolent of
formal and literary; can describe both positive and negative qualities
文法句型
event/situation + reek of + [abstract noun denoting unpleasant quality]
用法筆記
Subject is always an event, decision, statement, or action — never a person. The object is always an abstract noun expressing a negative quality (hypocrisy, corruption, greed, dishonesty, etc.), never a concrete noun or a person.