to suck a lemon
- idiom
- Informal
:
aguantar
- You can't always avoid hardship; sometimes you just have to suck a lemon.
Examples
-
Whenever things go wrong at work, Mark just says he'll suck a lemon and move on.
-
Facing rejection again, she knew she'd have to suck a lemon and keep trying.
-
Just suck a lemon and move on!
-
Sometimes you just have to suck a lemon.
-
Facing rejection again, she knew she'd have to suck a lemon and keep trying.
-
Whenever things go wrong at work, Mark just says he'll suck a lemon and move on.
-
You can't always avoid hardship; sometimes you just have to suck a lemon.
Synonyms
81
8.8
Accept a difficult situation and continue without complaining
52
5.1
Accept an unpleasant situation you cannot change
5
6.8
To accept an unpleasant situation without complaining
To accept and deal with something bad or disappointing
To accept something unpleasant during talks to avoid bigger problems
Antonyms
How Resigned
- Informal
7
6.8
- Informal
5
6.8
304
3.5
- Informal
288
4.3
290
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase relies on a metaphor (sucking a lemon produces a sour, unpleasant sensation) that can suggest accepting or enduring something unpleasant, so a learner who knows the literal senses can often infer the general idea. However the specific pragmatic nuance of resignation and the idiomatic use is not fully predictable from the parts and may vary by register, so prior exposure helps. Because the connection is metaphorical but recoverable, it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Suck a lemon comes from the clear image of someone putting a sour lemon in their mouth and having to suck it despite the unpleasant taste. That's why the phrase means to 'deal with' a hard or unpleasant situation.