bitter pill to swallow
2
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
trago amargo
- Accepting the company's decision to downsize was a bitter pill to swallow for the employees.
It really can feel like a bitter pill to swallow.
- It really can feel like a bitter pill to swallow.
Examples
-
And that is a bitter pill to swallow in the midst of anxiety.
-
But it would be a bitter pill to swallow for a president who repeatedly cites democratization as the United States' chief interest in Iraq.
Academic text (2006) -
It's a bitter pill to swallow.
-
Or at least make it a bit less of a bitter pill to swallow.
Blog text (10) -
It's a very bitter pill to swallow!
Blog text (20) -
The unemployed PhD graduates have a bitter pill to swallow.
Blog text (8) -
The disappointment with WS is a bitter pill to swallow.
Blog text (24) -
Seeing their target race stolen by a doper is undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow.
Blog text (25) -
This is going to be a very bitter pill to swallow for anybody with an interest in collegiate sports, especially for university administrators with a financial stake in the success of those teams.
Blog text (17) -
But now, if we are to judge our neighborhood by these knuckleheads' commentary (and I do), it's a bitter pill to swallow.
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
52
7.9
A difficult fact or situation that you must accept
11
4.4
A difficult truth you must accept
A very hard thing to accept or deal with
Antonyms
How Unpleasant
∞
1.0
11
4.4
- Informal
2
6.8
∞
1.2
21
3.2
107
4.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase maps directly onto a clear metaphor: 'bitter' = unpleasant, 'pill' = something you must take, and 'swallow' = accept or endure, so the idea of having to accept an unpleasant fact is readily inferable from the parts. This ingestion/medicine metaphor for accepting hardship is common across languages, making the overall meaning accessible to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Bitter pill to swallow comes from the image of a strong pill that tastes bitter and must be swallowed even though it is unpleasant. That's why the phrase means 'an unpleasant thing you must accept'.