smell the roses

smell the roses

To enjoy the finer or more enjoyable aspects of life, especially when one has become overworked or overly stressed. Usually preceded by another verb, especially "stop" or "wake up." You can't keep working these 80 hour weeks, John! You have to stop and smell the roses, or else what is all that work even for? It's clear by the people's laid-back demeanor that this is a culture that places greater value on smelling the roses than the pursuit of money or success.
See also: rose, smell
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

smell the roses

enjoy or appreciate what is often ignored. North American informal
See also: rose, smell
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

smell the roses

To spend time in leisurely enjoyment.
See also: rose, smell
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • be in
  • barf
  • barfola
  • blow
  • blown
  • cross over
  • face off
  • face-off
  • check out
  • check something out
References in periodicals archive
I do wish the current crop would stop and smell the roses.
By the time you read this column, dear friends, I will be stopping "to smell the roses." I will be acting on Jesus' invitation to "Come away ...
If you don't stop and smell the roses along the way.
We must invite them to also smell the rose, enjoy the rose and praise God for the beauty of the rose.
So, "stop and smell the roses" can perhaps be abbreviated to just "stop and smell." Stop.
STOPPING to smell the roses could soon be a thing of the past - because they are losing their scent.
I am very frustrated that many publications--including this one--seem so focused on being "positive," that the vast majority of experience is limited to: "MS is the best thing that ever happened to me," "I've learned so much," or "MS forced me to slow down and smell the roses."
Along with bread and butter, we need time to plant and pick and prune and smell the roses.
Remember to stop for yourself once in a while, smell the roses and create the perfect mix of healthy business.
"With this little bit of extra help, I get to maintain the enthusiasm I have for gardening and even get time to smell the roses and enjoy it."
Sometimes teachers forget to "stop and smell the roses." Aesthetic and expressive experiences can increase feelings of belonging and self-esteem, and help students learn to reach for those expressive experiences.
In light of these revelations, then, does it not become ever more incumbent upon college and university presidents driving change in their institutions to keep their schools evolving and competitive--even if that means a "Wake Up and Smell the Roses" stance with reticent faculty who would prefer to keep the institution modeled to their own image of the academy?
As 29-year-old Michael Weiser makes his way to GFI's offices on 50 Broadway every morning, he takes the time to look up and read his favorite billboard that declares, "Sometimes stopping to smell the roses has nothing to do with stopping or roses." It is this billboard that serves as a reminder to Weiser to be sure to keep his priorities in check--not always an easy task.
Were this just a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy--which the video packaging might mislead you into believing--Days would be about how free-spirit Andrea teaches uptight Claudio to walk barefoot in the park and smell the roses. But there are deeper ideas afoot here.
No time to stop and smell the roses? DigiScents plans to change that with its Smell Digital Scent Technology.