wake up and smell the coffee

wake up and smell the coffee

Pay attention to what is happening. Come on, Stan, wake up and smell the coffee! They're cheating you out of millions!
See also: and, coffee, smell, up, wake
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

wake up and smell the coffee

Prov. Try to pay attention to what's going on. Things have changed around here, Wallace J. Hodder! Wake up and smell the coffee!
See also: and, coffee, smell, up, wake
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

wake up and smell the coffee

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.
See also: and, coffee, smell, up, wake
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

wake up and smell the coffee

become aware of the realities of a situation, however unpleasant. informal, chiefly North American
See also: and, coffee, smell, up, wake
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

wake up and smell the ˈcoffee

(American English, informal) used to tell somebody that they are wrong about a particular situation or have not been aware of something and it is time that they realized and accepted the truth: It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee: you’re not going to pass this course unless you start working harder.
See also: and, coffee, smell, up, wake
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • coffee in, coffee out
  • coffee
  • coffee and
  • cup of joe
  • cuppa joe
  • coffee shop
  • CICO
  • cold coffee
  • coffee and Danish
  • With or without?
References in periodicals archive
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee was released only weeks after the September 11 terror attacks on American and has struggled to make an impact on the US charts, despite achieving platinum sales elsewhere in the world.
Cranberries fame almost drove me mad: Delores; 'COMING OFF TOUR WAS LIKE DOING COLD TURKEY'
There's plenty of bitter truth in the essential points Bogosian makes in "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee." The universe is an unfeeling place, where people fight fiercely for their own piece of the pie while shrugging their shoulders and clicking their clickers at the plane crashes, terrorist bombings and civil wars that litter the media landscape.
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
With seven million cardboard cups binned every day, it's time for us to wake up and smell the coffee about recycling.
Hugh's got brews news; We love BEST TV
The coffee chain's UK chief Kris Engskov has demanded talks in Downing Street after the Prime Minister said tax-avoiding companies had to "wake up and smell the coffee".
Starbucks' warning to Cam on tax
The councillors need to wake up and smell the coffee. Our town centre is a disgrace and the people of Kirkby deserve better.
We deserve better; YouSay Email:letters@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Wake up and smell the coffee One luky reader will wake up and smell the coffee every day for a year with a year's supply of Lavazza coffee (11 x 250g packs), a moka pot, gift set of limited edition 2010 Lavazza calendar themed cups and saucers and a small limited edition 2010 Lavazza calendar worth approximately pounds 130 in total.
Lucky Sevens
On the other hand, landlords need to wake up and smell the coffee. In the current economic climate, there is huge pressure on margins for all companies who will be forced to re-examine the terms of their property costs.
Just how long can North East buck national trend? in association with RBS
I think some of our fans need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Letter: ROW Z - FANZINE; THE PUNTERS' PAGE THE PLAYERS READ
14As it turns out, the phrase wake up and smell the coffee is more true than you would imagine.
20 things you need to nose about our sense of smell
I think K Jackson should wake up and smell the coffee as he obviously doesn't watch or read the news.
Back after the fox; Your Say
JOHN HUGHES fears his team will only wake up and smell the coffee when they read this morning's Sunday Mail.
Football: Bairns need to get up to speed
It is time for Birmingham to move forward, see what other towns and cities are achieving, wake up and smell the coffee, and improve the dated layouts of suburban centres like Acocks Green, Kings Heath and many others.
Letter: Your Say - Dated streets
The bleeding-heart non-smokers, who think that the world will change as soon as us law-abiding, tax-paying smokers have been stopped, need to wake up and smell the coffee, or is that the next legal drug they'll get banned?
Voice of Scotland: Yourview - Clearing the air
Drummer Fergal Lawlor said: "We weren't sure what to expect as some - but not all - members of our record company informed us that, in their eyes, Wake Up And Smell The Coffee is "over" in America, and fans have moved on.
24/7: A BERRY BAD TIME TO ARGUE; Jibe sours tour
The Cranberries Wake Up And Smell The Coffee (MCA) ITwas easy to write off the Cranberrries after last year's Bury The Hatchet.
newsounds; Friday Live: Another good reason to love Pulp