bitter pill to swallow en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(figuratively) Something unpleasant that must be accepted or endured.
Giving them amnesty would be a bitter pill for the U.S. to swallow.
2006 June 26, Tony Karon, “Inside Iraq's 'Amnesty' Plan”, in Time, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2010:[T]o see himself dethroned, the object of her contempt, was a bitter pill to swallow.
1886, George Gissing, chapter 10, in Demos: A Story of English Socialism:"[W]e cast loose from the ice after a very careful inspection which left us no hope whatsoever of penetrating it. […] It was a bitter pill to swallow, but we decided to search for Winter quarters somewhere along the coast."
1920 May 1, “Amundsen to Try Again for Pole”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bitter pill, swallow.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| bitter pills to swallow | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
Relateds
pill to swallow · tough pill to swallow · difficult pill to swallow · hard pill to swallow · sugarcoat the pill · swallow a bitter pill · hard to swallow
Synonyms
hard pill to swallow · bitter pill · tough pill to swallow · difficult pill to swallow
Translations (2)
pt verdade difícil de engolir (Translations) · nl bittere pil (Translations)