smell the coffee

verb

To wake up and smell the coffee.

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Meanings

verbsmell the coffee (third-person singular simple present smells the coffee, present participle smelling the coffee, simple past and past participle smelled the coffee)

present singular third person smells the coffee · participle present smelling the coffee · participle past smelled the coffee · past smelled the coffee

  1. To wake up and smell the coffee.

    The gay and lesbian movement has been white and middle class, and it is very meaningful for working class gay and gay people of color that our movement has finally smelled the coffee on this and it is taking up in a major way.

    1991 December 15, Jacob Smith Yang, quoting Sue Hyde, “Anti-ROTC Or Anti-Military?”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 22, page 6
Cite this entry
APA

smell the coffee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20the%20coffee

MLA

“smell the coffee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20the%20coffee. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smell the coffee,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smell%20the%20coffee.

Source: smell the coffee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.