come up roses

verb

To enter into a condition or situation which is favorable; to develop in a pleasing or advantageous manner.

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Meanings

verbcome up roses (third-person singular simple present comes up roses, present participle coming up roses, simple past came up roses, past participle come up roses)

present singular third person comes up roses · participle present coming up roses · past came up roses

  1. idiomaticTo enter into a condition or situation which is favorable; to develop in a pleasing or advantageous manner.

    "Buck up, mister. Why, with your background, your knowledge, you'll come up roses."

    1985, Stephen Longstreet, Our Father's House, →ISBN, page 233
    2 more examples

    All of a sudden, or so it seemed, the world had turned around and they were coming up roses. Now, instead of the bottle being half empty it was suddenly half full, and getting closer and closer to the top.

    1978, Hubert Selby, Requiem for a Dream, →ISBN, page 127

    [E]verything came up roses for Warren Beatty. The all-important New York Times review by Brooks Atkinson called him "earnest and attractive".

    2006, Suzanne Finstad, Warren Beatty: A Private Man, →ISBN, page 221

Origin

Coined by lyricist Stephen Sondheim for a song from the musical Gypsy (1959).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

come up roses. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20roses

MLA

“come up roses.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20roses. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come up roses,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20roses.

Source: come up roses on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.