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Say, I put on perfume and then I took a shower. Most of the perfume smell disappeared but some still remained.

Can I say "I can still smell a hint of perfume"?

Say, My baby pooped on my bed accidentally or several times a day. I didn't have time to change the bad cover so I cleaned it up. However, most of the poop smell was gone but some still remained.

Can I say "I can still smell a hint of baby poop"?

Can "a hint" be used for both bad and good smell?

If we can not use "a hint", what other words can we use?

a very small amount of something

Note: Most dictionaries do not say "a hint=faint smell", but "a hint=a very small amount of something".

Then, I heard someone (I am not sure is a native English speaker or not) say "smell a hint", so I just asked to make sure "to smell a hit" is a correct phrase.

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    A hint is a bit of a clue. Not an obvious clue that would let you guess the right answer easily. The word is used figuratively to mean "a faint indication". The soap had a hint of cedar.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 8 at 11:14

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To call a faint smell of something a 'hint' (of that thing) is quite normal English. A hint of lavender, of smoke, of urine, of cheese, of perfume. Another very commonly used word is 'whiff'.

faint smell noun

These are words and phrases related to faint smell.

WHIFF

Synonyms

whiff, scent, odor/odour, aroma, bouquet, sniff, smell, breath, hint, trace, soupçon

Synonyms of faint smell in English (Cambridge Dictionary)

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  • I don't understand why someone gave me a down-vote. Most dictionaries do not say "a hint= faint smell", but "a hint=a very small amount of something". Then, I heard someone (I am not sure is a native English speaker or not) say "smell a hint", so I just want to make sure "to smell a hit" is a correct phrase.
    – Tom
    Commented Sep 8 at 10:45
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    Not my downvote, but I imagine the DVer figured either that you should have consulted a couple of dictionaries or that you should understand that words can be used figuratively and that one must be able to recognize analogical uses when you encounter them.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 8 at 11:21
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    @TimR - it can get contentious - I have heard of downvote vendettas between users, although there are systems, apparently, in place to detect them. I tend to delete any of my answers that get a downvote to a negative amount that is not reversed by anyone else. There is such a thing as 'drive-by downvoting'. Quite a lot of interactive web sites attract people who are 'struggling with their mental health' as I think we are supposed to say these days, and many obsessives are that way about language.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Sep 8 at 11:50
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    @Tom The situations described in your questions are sometimes ultra specific, often slightly peculiar and a little out of the ordinary. Situations that are not typical and therefore not useful to your average learner. Saying that, your question is on topic but the DV could be due to the fact you mention cat faeces, which is an unpleasant topic, and it's not something cats normally, so why wouldn't you just wash the bedcover in the first place? Any one showering shouldn't be able to detect any perfume (aftershave/deodorant/cologne) on their body but it might be possible I guess.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 8 at 12:37
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    @Tom Your beef was with the definition using the word "amount". That strikes me as an overly literal approach to dictionary definitions. And there are four examples in the definition you cite, from which you should be able to glean that the word hint can be used figuratively, especially the winter example: The sauce has a subtle hint of garlic. It was late March, but there was still a hint [=trace] of winter in the air. He had a hint of a German accent. They'll betray you at the first hint of trouble.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 8 at 19:27

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