Everything’s coming up roses!

I recently heard someone (on TV) use the expression, โ€œIn the weeds,โ€ which was an idiom I had never heard before. Based on the context, I thought I had a pretty good idea what was meant, but I decided to look it up. It got me thinking about a post I wrote ages ago about horse idiomsโ€ฆso I tried to compile a list of idioms that involve plants (weeds, flowers, grass, and trees)…Hereโ€™s what blossomed:

  1. In the weeds โ€“ to be so busy/behind schedule/overwhelmed that it would be impossible to catch up.
  2. Down the garden path โ€“ to mislead someone.
  3. Nip in the bud โ€“ to stop something before it has a chance to get started.
  4. Pushing up daisies โ€“ a euphemism for dead (and buried).
  5. Stop and smell the roses โ€“ take time to enjoy the simple, beautiful things.
  6. The grass is always greener in someone elseโ€™s backyard โ€“ the tendency to romanticize what we do not have.
  7. Babe in the woods โ€“ a person who is out of his/her depth.
  8. Out of the woods โ€“ to survive a dangerous or difficult situation.
  9. Cream of the crop โ€“ the best part of a group.
  10. Out on a limb โ€“ to be in a dangerous or weak position without any support.
  11. Branch out โ€“ to try something new.
  12. Beat around the bush โ€“ the opposite of getting to the point.
  13. Canโ€™t see the forest for the trees โ€“ to be so bogged down by details, you miss the big picture.
  14. Come out smelling like a rose โ€“ to come out of a potentially bad situation unscathed (kind of like, โ€œthe proof of the pudding is in the eatingโ€). It reminds me of one of my favorite phrases/song titles, “Everything’s coming up roses,” which I’ve adapted to “Everything’s coming up Josie!”
  15. Money doesnโ€™t grow on trees โ€“ a reminder that money is hard to come by and once spent, it will not regenerate itself.
  16. Barking up the wrong tree โ€“ to be wrong about someone or something.
  17. Fresh as a daisy โ€“ fresh, energetic. Warning: do not use this idiom or your writing will be anything but…
  18. Gilding the lily โ€“ to decorate something that is already decorative.
  19. Make hay while the sun shines โ€“ to take advantage of favorable conditions to get a job done (in other words, “there’s no time like the present”).
  20. Make like a tree and get out of here (I mean, make like a tree and leave) โ€“ okay, so this one isnโ€™t strictly an idiomโ€ฆitโ€™s more like a bad pun…courtesy of Biff from Back to the Future, and I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Can you add any fun, colorful, flora expressions to the list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!


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