wake up and smell the coffee
Accept harsh truths
Wake up and smell the coffee is an admonition to face reality or become aware of what's actually happening: You think he's going to change? Wake up and smell the coffee.
The image is of someone rousing from sleep to the unmistakable aroma of morning coffee—a call to alertness and clear-eyed recognition of obvious facts being ignored or denied.
- cold waterFigurative enthusiasm killer
- snap out of itRecover from a daze
- open your eyesBegin to perceive
- realizationGrasping what's true
- reality checkConfrontation with actual circumstances
get real · face facts · face the music · hard truth · recognize · awareness · epiphany · moment of clarity · wise up · catch on · blind spot · head in the sand · confront · see the light · bite the bullet · take stock · get up · denial
wake up and smell the coffeebury one's head in the sand
Avoid acknowledging uncomfortable truths
turn a blind eye · wear rose-colored glasses · live a lie · whistle past the graveyard · look through rose-tinted glasses
wake up and smell the coffeeblissful ignorance
zone out · tune out · go through the motions · space out · daydream
wake up and smell the coffeedream on
Dismissive of unlikely hopes
keep dreaming · chase rainbows · build castles in the air · reach for the moon
coffee, wake up, wakeful, awakening, wakefulness, awakenings, wakeup