bitter pill to swallow

Idioms  

1. An unpleasant fact, disappointment, or humiliation that is difficult to endure. For example, Failing the bar exam was a bitter pill to swallow, but he plans to try again next year. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

The Japanese considered the emperor to be divine, and a surrender was to admit his fallibility—a very bitter pill to swallow.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

For USC, it was an especially bitter pill to swallow, considering how well things had started.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a young man who had spoken to AFP before the game about wanting to be an "all-time great" and to emulate his illustrious Patriots predecessor Tom Brady.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

It would be a bitter pill to swallow if you had to hire another heating engineer and pay a third time.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 7, 2026

Given that Russia was at this point at the very vanguard of modernism it was a bitter pill to swallow, and understandably so.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall