Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: bitter pill

Yee yee! We've found 34 phrases and idioms matching bitter pill.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go downAn otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.Rate it:

(4.00 / 5 votes)
bitter endThat part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains onboard when a ship is riding at anchor.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
bitter endThe end of a long and difficult process.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
bitter pillSomething unpleasant that must be accepted or endured.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
bitter pill to swallowUsed other than as an idiom: see bitter pill, swallow.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
bitter pill to swallowSomething unpleasant that must be accepted or endured.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
bitter sweetWhen something is Good and Bad; Positive with negative.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
boire un bouillon (lit.)To swallow water (when swimming); To swallow a bitter pill; To lose a lot of money.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
dorer la piluleTo gild the pill.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
double dutchSex using a condom and the contraceptive pill at the same time.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
face offEither an actual or a figurative face to face confrontation, especially a bitter one.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
faire avaler des couleuvres à quelqu'unTo say very humiliating things to a man who, on account of his inferior position, is obliged to put up with them; To make any one swallow a bitter pill.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
gild the pillTo make something unappealing look more attractive.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
Green with EnvyTo get resentful, bitter or envious with someone, Getting jealous and invidiousRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
hard pill to swallowSomething that is difficult to accept.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
horse pillA medicinal pill which is very large in size and is therefore difficult for a person to swallow.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
horse pillA fact, proposal, claim, etc. that is difficult to accept or believe.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
on the pillUsing oral contraceptives.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
out on the tilesI've had a pint of bitter and now I'm feeling better and I'm out on the tiles." Led Zeppelin in their song "Out on the tiles", 1970.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
pill in the pocketA pill carried in a pocket of one's clothing such as pants or a coat.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
pill in the pocketA medication, usually prescribed by a physician, which the patient is to carry with him or her, and which is to be used only under certain conditions.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
pill millAn clandestine operation where a medical worker spuriously offers prescription medications to patients in exchange for bribes and not necessarily for any actual need.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
pill to swallowSomething to be accepted or tolerated.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
pill to swallowUsed other than as an idiom: see pill, swallow.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
roll the pillTo stimulate ones clitoris; to masturbate.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
sugar pillA placebo medication.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
sugar pillUsed other than as an idiom: see sugar, pill.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
sugarcoat a bitter pillAlternative form of sugarcoat the pillRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
sugarcoat the pillTo make an unpleasant situation more pleasant.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
swallow a bitter pillTo accept or endure an unpleasant situation.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
take the bitter with the sweetTo accept positive things with negative things.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
Take the Bitter with the SweetAccepting bad things along with the good onesRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
take the red pillTo understand the world in its previously unknown reality.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
wash downTo help to swallow by drinking a liquid, after eating something, or taking a pill.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Alternative searches for bitter pill:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
A _____ in sheep’s clothing.
A Wolf
B Lion
C Bear
D Lamb

Browse Phrases.com

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ