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bitter pill

noun

a distressing experience or result that is hard to accept (often in the expression a bitter pill to swallow ):
Being passed over for promotion was a bitter pill to swallow.

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Example Sentences

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Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said it was a "gamechanger" but critics say the restrictions do not go far enough and were "a bitter pill to swallow".

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It may be a bitter pill for Zelensky to swallow, but the kind of additional US military aid to Ukraine that it eventually would need to keep up the fight seems unlikely at this point.

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The result was a bitter pill for Prescott to swallow, with 78% of the votes cast against devolution.

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Mrs Richardson said losing the money her parents had left was a “bitter pill to swallow”.

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"I feel like I've been playing really great golf all week in practice and it was a bitter pill to swallow to be sat out for as many sessions as I was," said Maguire.

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bitter orange bitter pill to swallow

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