sniff test

Noun

sniff test (plural sniff tests)

1. An inspection of an object by smelling it, as for cleanliness of clothing or freshness of food.
   • Let wood dry overnight so solvent evaporates. Mr. [Hugh] Fite uses the sniff test: when he no longer smells solvent, the surface is likely dry enough.1988 March, “No Longer an ‘Afterthought’ Kitchen”, in Sunset: The Magazine of Western Living, Menlo Park, Calif.: Lane Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 108, column 3
   • Spices properly kept can last for months. To be sure the flavor hasn't weakened, give them the "sniff test" (check for a pungent aroma) and look for vibrant color.1996 December, “The Best Cookies in Town: The Well-stocked Cookie Cupboard: For Foolproof Cookies, Select the Right Ingredients and Use Them Properly”, in Myrna Blyth, editor, Ladies’ Home Journal...

   Synonyms:

   nose test, smell test

   1. (figuratively) An informal check of whether an idea or proposal is credible, ethical, etc., using one's common sense or sense of propriety.
      • Near-synonyms: reality check, sanity check, sanity test
      • But does it pass the sniff test?
2. A medical procedure involving a person taking quick, short sniffs which cause contraction of the diaphragm during a fluoroscopy, enabling abnormalities of the diaphragm to be detected; diaphragm fluoroscopy.
   • The most reliable radiographic maneuver to detect paradoxical movement is the sniff test, consisting of rapidly repeated inspirations through the nostrils during fluoroscopy. Normally, both hemidiaphragms descend sharply during a sniff, but with unilateral disphragmatic paralysis there is...1995, Katherine Malagari, Robert G. Fraser, edited by Charis Roussos, The Thorax […] Part C: Disease (Lung Biology in Health and Disease; 85), 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Marcel Dekker, →ISBN, part...