Wake up and smell the coffee

Wake up and smell the coffee is an injunction to face up to reality or face the facts, an Americanism first cited in the Chicago Daily Tribune 18 January 1943. It is not known who coined the expression the expression but the Anne Landers advice column in the Chicago Sun-Times popularised it during the 1960s. It is a modern version of the older saying stop and smell the roses although the latter has a slightly different meaning, which is to appreciate the good things in life. Wake up and smell the roses seems to be a conflation or confusion of the two, but nevertheless made its appearance during the 1980s. See also Stop and smell the roses