smell like a rose

English

Alternative forms

• come out smelling like a rose, come out smelling of roses, come up smelling like a rose, come up smelling of roses

Pronunciation

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Verb

smell like a rose (third-person singular simple present smells like a rose, present participle smelling like a rose, simple past and past participle smelt like a rose or smelled like a rose)

1. (idiomatic, colloquial, simile) To be regarded as appealing, virtuous, or respectable; to be untainted or unharmed.
   • 1953 November 22, “Prison is quiet after hearing”, in Spokesman-Review, Spokane, USA, retrieved 4 August 2009, page 22:

     "I don't suppose anyone from the director down will come out of this deal smelling like a rose," the warden commented, "but our only hope is that some good will result from the hearing."

   • 1990, Marilyn Cannaday, Bigger than Life: The Creator of Doc Savage, →ISBN, page 28:

     But compared to others, Dent came out of the Depression "smelling like a rose." He later boasted that he made $18,000 a year with his writing during the Depression.

   • 2002 June 24, Christopher Palmeri, “Can CalPERS Afford to Throw Stones?”, in BusinessWeek, retrieved 4 Aug. 2009:

     The champion of corporate governance should smell like a rose. Instead, there's an unpleasant whiff of pork-barrel politics rising from the board.

Usage notes

• This expression often uses the verb smell in its present participial form (smelling).

See also

• come up roses