The phrase "a whiff of panic" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a slight or fleeting sense of panic in a situation or among people.
Example: "As the deadline approached, there was a whiff of panic among the team members, evident in their hurried conversations."
Alternatives: "a hint of panic" or "a trace of panic".
It also carried a whiff of panic.
Indeed, there is a whiff of panic at some publishing houses as events spiral.
A whiff of panic swept through the ranks of the Liberal Democratic Party LDPP), which dominates the ruling coalition.
Many detected a whiff of panic, if not an imminent about-turn, when David Cameron said he was "listening to all the arguments in this case".
Both announcements bore a whiff of panic: they were made during steep falls in bank shares and the fine print was tidied up afterwards.
But along with all the pungent aromas, a whiff of panic is in the air here in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China.
Secondly there does seem to a bit of a whiff of the panic mongering of the "clash of civilisations" crowd and the anti-immigration European right.
FOR all her promises to stand firm against a subsidised rescue for Greece, Germany's Angela Merkel wobbled as soon as financial markets gave off a whiff of serious panic.
And I experienced a whiff of pure panic when, exploring a ruined level of a Volgian laboratory, I saw a giant shadow rear up briefly on a distant wall.
Some of the changes betray a whiff of presidential panic, just when urgent legislative battles loom.In 16 months in office, Mr Uribe has offered Colombians bold leadership with his effort to impose "democratic security" on a country suffering violence from two guerrilla armies, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.
Yet Thursday's Sun front page – referring to Conservative MP Crispin Blunt and a ban on poppers as part of the government's psychoactive bill – managed to blend homophobia and a whiff of moral panic, as it was suggested that to be high on poppers is particularly shocking.
