SMELLING LIKE A ROSE
23 / 04 / 2012
SMELLING LIKE A ROSE: meaning and examples
Good morning. I hope you had a great weekend.
Today is St. Jordi. This day is celebrated in Catalonia as the day of the book and the rose. Last week we covered a lot of vocabulary about books, so today we are going to explain an expression related to that most iconic of flowers, the rose.
Today's expression is: TO COME UP* SMELLING LIKE A ROSE / TO COME UP SMELLING OF ROSES
* You can sometimes hear the expression TO COME OUT SMELLING LIKE A ROSE used with the same meaning.
Meaning: A person who comes up smelling like a rose appears in a positive light after a difficult or a suspicious situation. In the end, the person is perceived as good or honest when they might have been perceived as bad or dishonest.
Example 1:
Nobody was able to prove that Ivan had taken part in the financial scandal. Compared to his business partners, he came out smelling like a rose.
Example 2:
Ollie: I think it's really unfair that we are all being accused of wasting time on the job.
Frank: All of us? Not Jessie. You watch. It doesn't matter what is happening, he always comes up smelling of roses.
Ollie: What do you mean?
Frank: I mean that the boss thinks Jessie is the best worker here. He will never be accused of anything.
I hope your contact with roses today is more positive than in the above situations!
Happy St. Jordi!
Today is St. Jordi. This day is celebrated in Catalonia as the day of the book and the rose. Last week we covered a lot of vocabulary about books, so today we are going to explain an expression related to that most iconic of flowers, the rose.
Today's expression is: TO COME UP* SMELLING LIKE A ROSE / TO COME UP SMELLING OF ROSES
* You can sometimes hear the expression TO COME OUT SMELLING LIKE A ROSE used with the same meaning.
Meaning: A person who comes up smelling like a rose appears in a positive light after a difficult or a suspicious situation. In the end, the person is perceived as good or honest when they might have been perceived as bad or dishonest.
Example 1:
Nobody was able to prove that Ivan had taken part in the financial scandal. Compared to his business partners, he came out smelling like a rose.
Example 2:
Ollie: I think it's really unfair that we are all being accused of wasting time on the job.
Frank: All of us? Not Jessie. You watch. It doesn't matter what is happening, he always comes up smelling of roses.
Ollie: What do you mean?
Frank: I mean that the boss thinks Jessie is the best worker here. He will never be accused of anything.
I hope your contact with roses today is more positive than in the above situations!
Happy St. Jordi!
