The bloom is off the rose

Posted by ESC on February 23, 2006

In Reply to: The bloom is off the rose posted by Smokey Stover on February 22, 2006

: : What does the phrase "the bloom is off the rose mean. What is its origin?

: When the bloom is off the rose, it means, figuratively, that whatever you are talking about has lost its first freshness, it's former beauty and allure. Literally, it means, of course, that the blooms of the rose have withered and dropped. Similar phrases were used in the 18th century, but I don't know about that particular phrase, which is now quite common. It connotes a degree of disenchantment, and when was that not common?

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Robert Herrick

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

• The bloom is off the rose Bob 23/February/06
  • The bloom is off the rose Smokey Stover 23/February/06
    • The bloom is off the rose ESC 25/February/06