Pungency

A smell or a taste could be pungent: so strong, sharp or powerful that it was unpleasant. When smelling something pungent, one would often "purse [their] lips [and] flare [their] nostrils", (PROSE: Pass It On) or "wrinkle [their] nose". (PROSE: Sunday Afternoon, AD 848,988) Such an experience could also provoke one to throw up. (PROSE: Hymn of the City)

One such smell was when something was "fishy", (PROSE: Tragedy Day) like the pungent odour of "mint and fish". (PROSE: Have You Tried Turning It Off and Then Back On Again?) Strong aromas within a vegetarian diet that could be considered pungent were turnip and mangel wurzel, while the strong smell of cooking meat could have a similar effect. (PROSE: Autaia Pipipi Pia) Victoria Waterfield found that cows had a pungent smell, (PROSE: On a Pedestal) and the Seventh Doctor found the Kortani reeked of "bloodlust" in their enzymes. (PROSE: Peaceable Kingdom)

Some types of cheese could be pungent, such as a moon truffle of Junfoot albino goat's cheese, which was churned beneath a blue moon, and left to mature for sixty years. The yellow-rinded cheese had an odour which "seeped almost visibly through its wrapping". (PROSE: Seven Deadly Sins)

The breath of one police officer was described as pungent. (PROSE: Verdigris) Chemicals such as ozone could have pungent odours, as well. (PROSE: Tragedy Day) Smoke could be both sweet and pungent. (PROSE: That Which Went Away) River water could also be a pungent smell, especially when associated with unpleasant memories, (PROSE: Blue Road Dance) or if particularly muddy. (PROSE: Midnight in the Café of the Black Madonna)