| idiom., inf. |
to realize the truth about your situation; to become aware of what is really happening (These problems are not going to fix themselves. Voters need to wake up and smell the coffee and elect someone who will get things done.); to become aware and take action before it's too late (Our party keeps losing the presidential election. Wake up and smell the coffee.
 urbandictionary.com); said when you are telling someone to be more realistic and more aware of what is happening around them (It would really serve you well to wake up and smell the coffee and quit acting like a teenager!
collinsdictionary.com); to face up to reality, esp in an unpleasant situation (collinsdictionary.com); pay attention to what is happening (Come on, Stan, wake up and smell the coffee! They're cheating you out of millions! • Things have changed around here, Wallace J. Hodder! Wake up and smell the coffee! thefreedictionary.com); if you say that someone should wake up and smell the coffee, you mean they must start to be more realistic and aware of what is happening around them (You'll have to wake up and smell the coffee. The world is a very hard, cruel place. • It would really serve you well to wake up and smell the damned coffee and quit acting like a teenager. thefreedictionary.com); to face reality and stop deluding oneself (often in the infinitive or imperative: Dear God, was she going to look at everybody who owned a truck with this sort of suspicion? “Come on, Heskell. Wake up and smell the coffee. They've become the singles bars of the nineties. wiktionary.org); used to tell someone that they are wrong about a particular situation and must realize what is really happening (Our party keeps losing the presidential election. Wake up and smell the coffee.
cambridge.org); become aware of the realities of a situation, however unpleasant (usually in imperative: Keep an eye on your friends, who may be using you—wake up and smell the coffee! • When are the Republicans going to wake up and smell the coffee? • I tell these young motorcyclists that if they don't think what they're doing is inherently dangerous then they need to wake up and smell the coffee. • Please wake up and smell the coffee where technical education is concerned before it's too late. • And if you think that's just because we all wanted to see a display of scintillating football from the England XI, wake up and smell the coffee. • If your idea of accountancy is grey-suited men hunched over page of numbers, you'd better wake up and smell the coffee. • At some point our Asian creditors will wake up and smell the coffee. • With the latest outbreak of gun-related violence in Washington, maybe the mass of U.S. citizens will finally wake up and smell the coffee. • The Brazilian superstar has found playing time hard to come by at the San Siro, but perhaps his latest stunt will get coach Carlo Ancelotti to wake up and smell the coffee. • Many analysts believe investors are beginning to wake up and smell the coffee - revenues, cash flow and earnings count for something. lexico.com) |
