Idiom: a bitter/ hard pill (to swallow)

 

"It's a bitter pill to swallow."
"It's a hard pill to swallow."


Meaning

  • A difficult or unpleasant fact or situation that has to be accepted
  • If medicine has an unpleasant taste, it is difficult to swallow. If a situation or fact is unpleasant, we say it is "a bitter pill to swallow."
  • This expression describes something that is hard or difficult to accept. When someone receives bad news that he or she has no choice but to accept or no ability to change, it is said to be "a hard pill to swallow."

Origin

“A bitter/hard pill” is a metaphor that relates to something unpleasant but has to be endured (for the better). It can also be assumed that it stems from the nasty taste of some medicines that were often forced upon patients in order to get results. Source: theidioms.com

Related words: painful truth, bitter truth, hard pill , hard to take


Example Sentences

  • Losing to a younger player was a bitter pill to swallow.
  • To know that his friends no longer trusted him was a bitter pill to swallow.
  • Losing the business was a bitter pill to swallow.
  • They've lost an estimated 2.5 million, a bitter pill to swallow.
  • Finding out that she was adopted was a bitter pill for Hailey to swallow. 
  • Losing her partner for Jade was a hard pill to swallow.
  • The news that the disease had returned was a bitter pill for Mary to swallow.
  • For the second year running, Peter was passed over for promotion. It’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when the new guy got the job. 
  • It is a hard pill to swallow that my father is selling our ancestral home.
  • You're too old to be given a job. That's a bitter pill to swallow.
  • I’ll be moving across country soon to be closer to family. It’s a hard pill to swallow knowing that my friends will be so far away, but we’ll figure out a way to stay in contact.
  • When Carter realized he was starting to lose his hair, it was a hard pill for him to swallow.
  • When I failed my driving test, it was a hard pill to swallow; however, I bounced back and passed it on my second try.
  • Learning that my best friend was moving to another country was a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ve come to accept it.
  • It was a hard pill to swallow learning that my father's fortune had been misused.
  • His recent breakup with Janet was a hard pill to swallow.
  • Not getting into my top choice college was a hard pill to swallow, that's for sure.


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