Word.ws English Dictionary

come out smelling of roses

come out smelling of roses is the alternative form of smell like a rose.

Meaning of smell like a rose

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. (colloquial, idiomatic, simile) To be regarded as appealing, virtuous, or respectable; to be untainted or unharmed.
    • come out smelling like a rose

Forms of come out smelling of roses

third-person singular presentcomes out smelling of roses
present participlecoming out smelling of roses
pastcame out smelling of roses
past participlecome out smelling of roses

Questions about come out smelling of roses

What is come out smelling of roses the alternative form of?
Come out smelling of roses is the alternative form of smell like a rose.

Words near come out smelling of roses in the dictionary

  1. come out of the broom closet
  2. come out of the closet
  3. come out of the woodwork
  4. come out on top
  5. come out smelling like a rose
  6. come out smelling of roses
  7. come out swinging
  8. come out with
  9. come over
  10. come rain or shine
  11. come rain or snow

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: come out smelling of roses (page history and authors); smell like a rose (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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