English Reference
Idiom idiom

bed of roses


A pleasant or easy situation; an untroubled existence.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

Life isn't always a bed of roses.

CONTEXTUAL

She thought marriage would be a bed of roses, but it took a lot of work.

COMPLEX

He had grown up believing that success was a bed of roses, only to discover that every achievement demanded its own measure of sacrifice.


first recorded 16th c.

From Christopher Marlowe's poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1599).


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bed blocker

    An elderly hospitalized person who is too infirm to return home but not sufficiently ill to necessitate continued hospitalization, creating a situation in which his or her hospital stay is prolonged while authorities or relatives search for a suitable placement amid the scarce resources of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.

  2. 02

    bed in

    To allow or help to settle in; to make (someone) feel at home.

  3. 03

    bloom is off the rose

    The person, object, or situation identified in the context has lost its novelty, freshness, appeal, or acceptability.

  4. 04

    come up roses

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

  5. 05

    get out of bed on the wrong side

    To start the day in a bad mood for no apparent reason.

  6. 06

    get up on the wrong side of the bed

    To feel irritable; to be in a bad mood; to have a bad day from the start, for no particular reason.

  7. 07

    make one's bed and lie in it

    To create a difficult situation whose unpleasant consequences one must now endure.

  8. 08

    marriage bed

    Sexual activity between a married couple.

Last updated August 10, 2026