Crossword Genius

Have a nose for trouble? (5,1,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

smell a rat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'trouble?' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'have a nose' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'nose' could be 'smell' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'smell' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'rat' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'for' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for smell a rat that I've seen before include "Suspect something's amiss" , "Find something fishy" , "Have suspicion something is afoot" , "Detect something suspicious" , "Suspect something wrong" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app