The same smell of winter clothing that never really dried out, of boots soaked through to dirty socks, unwashed feet.

NEWYORKER: Amundsen

They're trying to unlock the molecular mysteries of scent and taste, of why we're drawn to gardenias--and get whiplash when sniffing dirty socks.

FORBES: Breaking a Sweat

"The lawn needs to be watered, the cat box is stinky, there are dirty socks in the living room, silverware in the grass out back, and I can't get those children to get to bed at 7:30 no matter how hard I try, " he says.

WSJ: When the Wife Is the Breadwinner

By contrast, "The Last of the Haussmans, " Stephen Beresford's new work at the National Theatre's Lyttelton, features Julie Walters as Judy Haussman, an elderly hippy windbag who makes the kind of ditsy, dirty speeches that would shock your socks off if spoken by your grandmother.

WSJ: Review: Making a Drama of Diplomacy | 'Democracy' at the Old Vic | 'Last of the Haussmans' at the National Theatre

Maybe it is the implausibly youthful face, or the tattered square of dirty, reflective cloth taped to his mudguard or the white, towelling sport socks he has pulled over his cleats in place of overshoes.

BBC: No place like home for triathlete Alistair Brownlee