come up smelling like a rose
come up smelling like a rose
To maintain a favorable reputation despite involvement in a scandalous or otherwise negative situation. By reporting his colleagues as soon as the feds started snooping around, the CEO pocketed millions and still came up smelling like a rose.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
come up smelling like a rose
and come up smelling like rosesFig. to end up looking good or respectable after being involved in some difficult or notorious affair. I was surprised that my congressional representative came up smelling like a rose after his colleagues investigated him.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.