I. phrasal
: to bear marks of study and labor rather than of genius or inspiration : seem artificial
to them a discussion of sovereignty in the abstract would have smelt of the lamp — C.A.Beard
— usually used of a literary composition
II. phrasal
: the appearance of having been produced by pedantry and plodding scholarship rather than vital inspiration
when he speaks about economic or social issues the smell of the lamp hangs about every cliché-cluttered sentence — H.G.Nicholas