bitter pill

American  

noun

1. a distressing experience or result that is hard to accept (often in the expressiona bitter pill to swallow ).

   Being passed over for promotion was a bitter pill to swallow.

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Example Sentences

These demands would be a bitter pill for Washington and its Gulf Arab allies to swallow.

From BBC

“This will be a bitter pill to swallow,” SGH Macro’s Duy said.

From MarketWatch

Paramount would have a bitter pill to swallow if regulators actually blocked the transaction.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

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

From Los Angeles Times