A bitter pill to swallow is an unpleasant truth or disappointment that you have to accept: Finishing second after months of preparation was a bitter pill to swallow. It hurts, but there's no way around it. You can drop to swallow and keep the pill: a bitter pill for the team.
When would you say a bitter pill to swallow?
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something is a bitter pill to swallow; a bitter pill for someone
- Finishing second after months of preparation was a bitter pill to swallow.
- The cancellation was a bitter pill for everyone who had built the stage.
- Accepting that the old boat could not be repaired was a bitter pill to swallow.
What changed
First versionMissing the final was a bitter pill to drink.
RevisionMissing the final was a bitter pill to swallow.
Pills go down with a glass of water, so drink can feel like the right verb. But in English you swallow a pill or take a pill. Replace drink with swallow, and the idiom is back in place.
A tough task is hard work you have to do. A bitter pill to swallow is a painful fact you have to accept: Accepting that the boat could not be repaired was a bitter pill to swallow. Bad news is any bad news, without the sense of being forced to accept it.
Your turn
The disappointing decision was a bitter pill to ___.
Show the answer
swallow — In English you swallow pills, so swallow. Drink is for liquids, and the idiom doesn't use it.
Describe a disappointment you had to accept after a lot of effort. Use a bitter pill to swallow.
Seeing the exhibition cancelled after weeks of work was a bitter pill to swallow.
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