How to describe the smell of the durian fruit

I will probably never try durian. Its reputation precedes it, and, although I am usually up to try something new, I am just not that desperate. But I did want to get some idea of what it actually smells like.

It seems to be one of those really hard-to-describe aromas. And, to be fair, it is really hard to characterize ANY kind of smell in words, other than to compare it to the smell of something else that people might be able to relate to.

The smell of a durian has been described as:

• "Pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock"
• "Civet cat, sewage, stale vonit, onions and cheese"
• "A bunch of dead cats"
• "Vomit-flavoured custard"
• "The smell of rotten eggs"
• "Pungent, runny French cheese"
• "The flesh of some animal in a state of putrefaction"
• "Completely rotten mushy onions"
• "A heap of rotten onion"
• "Carrion in custard"

The diversity of these descriptions is notable, attesting to the difficulty of pinning it down, although onions and dead bodies appear with some frequency. Either way, though, it has confirmed me in my conviction never to try it.