Take the bitter with the sweet

Cultural  

1. Accept life's misfortunes as well as its joys.

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take the bitter with the sweet Idioms  

1. Accept adversity as well as good fortune, as in Although he got the job, he hadn't counted on having to work with Matthew; he'll just have to take the bitter with the sweet. This idiom uses bitter for “bad” and sweet for “good,” a usage dating from the late 1300s. It was first recorded in John Heywood's 1546 proverb collection. For a synonym, see take the rough with the smooth.

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Example Sentences

"The point of the bankruptcy process is to take the bitter with the sweet," he said.

From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2023

But when you buy into an blogging autodidact — especially one as subtly funny and dark as Mr. Romenesko — you take the bitter with the sweet.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2011

In racing, you must take the bitter with the sweet.

From Time Magazine Archive

You had to take the bitter with the sweet; and it cannot be denied he played carelessly with our lives and fortunes. 

From The Mirror of the Sea by Conrad, Joseph

But he felt quite proud of marryin' such a aristocratic woman, and so he had to take the bitter with the sweet.

From Samantha at the World's Fair by Grimm, Baron C. de