to cry stinking fish
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To belittle one's own endeavours, offerings, etc. "To cry" here is to offer for sale by shouting one's wares in the street.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to cry stinking fish” mean?
To belittle one's own endeavours, offerings, etc. "To cry" here is to offer for sale by shouting one's wares in the street.
Is “to cry stinking fish” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.