Word.ws English Dictionary

smelling like a tart's handbag

smelling like a tart's handbag is the present participle and gerund of smell like a tart's handbag.

Meaning of smell like a tart's handbag

Verb

smell like a tart's handbag (third-person singular simple present smells like a tart's handbag, present participle smelling like a tart's handbag, simple past and past participle smelt like a tart's handbag or smelled like a tart's handbag)

  1. (UK, derogatory, idiomatic, slang, simile) To smell strongly of perfume.
    • "Phew," he said, following her into the room. "It smells like a tart's handbag in here."2004, Carole Matthews, The Scent of Scandal, page 12

Questions about smelling like a tart's handbag

What is smelling like a tart's handbag the present participle and gerund of?
Smelling like a tart's handbag is the present participle and gerund of smell like a tart's handbag.

Words near smelling like a tart's handbag in the dictionary

  1. smelling bottle
  2. smelling bottles
  3. smelling like a rose
  4. smelling like a tart's bedroom
  5. smelling like a tart's boudoir
  6. smelling like a tart's handbag
  7. smelling like a tart's handkerchief
  8. smelling of the lamp
  9. smelling of the shop
  10. smelling out
  11. smelling salt

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smelling like a tart's handbag (page history and authors); smell like a tart's handbag (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “smelling like a tart's handbag.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/smelling_like_a_tart%27s_handbag. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.