B2idiominformalfoodIELTS-friendly
wake up and smell the coffee
USUK
to stop dreaming and accept the real, often unpleasant, situation
Informal and direct; it can sound rude said to someone's face. British past tense can be 'smelt'.
In context
Wake up and smell the coffee: nobody will hire you if you never answer emails.
It's time the company woke up and smelled the coffee about its old website.
More idioms about food
- a bad appleone bad person who has a bad effect on the rest of a group
- a couch potatoa person who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV instead of being active
- a different kettle of fisha completely different situation from the one just mentioned
- a finger in every pieinvolved in many different activities, often to get power
- a meal ticketa person or thing that someone uses as a source of money or support