Was fishy? (5)

I believe the answer is:

smelt

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'fishy?' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives can sometimes mean the same thing.

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

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(Other definitions for smelt that I've seen before include "Arab leader" , "18 [EXTRACT] metal" , "23 [FISH]" , "Small silvery fish" , "Got a whiff of" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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