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put that in your pipe and smoke it

put that in your pipe and smoke it

1 9.9
Accept this fact even if you do not like it
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : acéptalo
  • You didn't believe I could do it? Well, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Examples

  • I got the job, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!

  • If you don't believe I can do it, just watch me—put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  • We won the debate, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  • Just put that in your pipe and smoke it!

  • When she heard his achievements, she had no choice but to put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  • He always criticized her ideas, but after her presentation, he finally had to put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  • After the team won the championship, the coach told the critics to put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Synonyms

to swallow
vsput that in your pipe and smoke it
  • Informal
146 7.2

To accept something unpleasant without protest

is used to tell someone to accept a fact, not merely tolerate it
to suck it
vsput that in your pipe and smoke it
  • Offensive
26 9.9

To tell someone to accept bad news or defeat without complaining

is a blunt command to accept an unwelcome fact that proves a point
to grin and bear it
vsput that in your pipe and smoke it
  • Informal
5 6.8

To accept an unpleasant situation without complaining

is a spoken order to accept an unpleasant truth rather than endure silently
to get through one's head
vsput that in your pipe and smoke it
  • Informal
7.4

To finally understand or accept something difficult

is an imperative telling someone to accept at once rather than gradually

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

332 3.0

To refuse to accept an idea or claim

Surface Forms

Morphology

put + that + in + your + pipe + and + smoke + it

The phrase evokes a literal action (place something in a pipe and smoke it) but the intended meaning — telling someone to accept or put up with a fact — cannot be derived from the literal meanings of the constituents. This is a culturally specific, metaphorical idiom whose overall sense is not predictable from 'put', 'pipe' and 'smoke', so a B1 learner who only knows the component words would not reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

Put that in your pipe and smoke it comes from the image of packing strong tobacco into a pipe and then smoking it, which means you keep and accept something bitter. So today it is used to tell someone to 'accept a fact' even if they do not like it.