A bitter pill

Submitted by Albaniana on 2017-08-08

Idiomatic translations of "A bitter pill"

Italian
Una pillola amara da ingoiare
Explanations:

Meanings of "A bitter pill"

English

an unpleasant fact that you must accept

Explained by Llegó Dolor Del CorazónLlegó Dolor Del Corazón on Fri, 26/08/2016 - 07:59
English

A terrible situation that must be accepted.

Explained by AlbanianaAlbaniana on Tue, 08/08/2017 - 12:58
Explained by AlbanianaAlbaniana
Question: is it intrinsic to the idiom that the situation "must be accepted"? Couldn't it also apply to a situation that is difficult, or impossible to accept? - Marko Bindreiter 6 years ago
English

Both English Explanations are fine.
A fact or situation that you do not want to accept, but reluctantly you must accept it in the end.
The phrase is commonly followed by "...to swallow."
EX: "I know it's a bitter pill to swallow, but everybody dies."

Explained by Phil AmbroPhil Ambro on Thu, 15/07/2021 - 21:53
Explained by Phil AmbroPhil Ambro
Greek

Άσχημο γεγονός που πρέπει να δεχτώ

Explained by StavroulaStavroula on Sat, 27/08/2016 - 10:07
Explained by StavroulaStavroula
Greek

Θα πιω κι αυτό το φαρμάκι

Explained by Guest on Fri, 08/12/2017 - 02:06
Explained by Guest
Hebrew

Το πικρό χάπι

Explained by Guest on Sun, 03/12/2017 - 16:43
Explained by Guest
Russian

тягостная необходимость; горькая пилюля

Explained by St. SolSt. Sol on Thu, 22/02/2018 - 00:40
Explained by St. SolSt. Sol
Spanish

Un hecho desagradable que hay que aceptar

Explained by SoPinkSoPink on Mon, 29/08/2016 - 18:53
Explained by SoPinkSoPink
Swedish

En obehaglig faktum att man måste acceptera

Explained by SoPinkSoPink on Mon, 29/08/2016 - 18:52
Explained by SoPinkSoPink
Turkish

Kabullenilmesi gereken istenmeyen, korkunç durum.

Explained by callmevilgcallmevilg on Sat, 13/04/2019 - 10:36
Explained by callmevilgcallmevilg

"A bitter pill" in lyrics

Boris Davidyan - A Criminal's Lot

It's a bitter pill to swallow, mom! This plan for my life.
I have no plan, like a king without a kingdom.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, mom! This plan for my life.
I have no plan, like a king without a kingdom.

Christian Hymns & Songs - O Sinner Behold

Weep your sins. Groan and cry that if the guilt is serious. Even more, Hell is.

It's a bitter pill. A golden disguise Which is sold as sugar being realgar.

Faouzia - Born Without A Heart

and I never will
That's the way I am,
such a bitter pill.
I don't really care,

Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry

Baby, fineness is the way to kill
Tell me how it feel, bet it's such a bitter pill
And yeah, I know you thought you had big and better things

Tokio Hotel - Break Away

Much too late

You are like a bitter pill
That i had to take

Queen - Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)

Breast feeding myself
What more can I say?
I have swallowed the bitter pill
I can taste it I can taste it

Psychonaut 4 - Wor(l)d Of Pain And Hate

I Hate you, for all lies and drugs

I am bitter pill called anti-world!
I am the Best Way to Die!

Bon Jovi - We Weren't Born to Follow

We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe

VERA (Ukraine) - Pink Smoke

[Verse 1]
Our sad faces,
we don't have to show 'em.
Don't exaggerate how much you resent me.

Eminem - Talkin' 2 Myself

[Verse 2: Eminem & Kobe]
Marshall, you're no longer the man, that's a bitter pill to swallow
All I know is I'm wallowing, self-loathing and hollow

Bad Love (OST) - My Heart Is Sad

they are still clear in my memory

I take a bitter pill called time
I swallow you with against my will

Amália Rodrigues - Bitter Maremma

Everybody tells me about Maremma, Maremma...
But it seems to me that Maremma is bitter 1
If a bird goes there, it's bound to lose its feathers

  • 1. The expression borders on the meaning of 'Maremma is a bitter pill'. In the Sixties the region offered a lot of land reclamation job opportunities, but the hard conditions of work made it life threatening to move there. Hence the singer swears at the region

Ruoska - To a Five-Star Hell

Half of the bitter pill,
Do you want to take that and die
Half of the bitter pill,
Do you want to take that and die

Art of Dying - You Don’t Know Me

Worst of the best, but I'm in this race
You don't know me
I'm a knife, I'm a rope, I'm a bitter pill
A tooth on the cog that you built to spill

Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills

Love kills over and over

Waiting for the bitter pill
Something I can truly feel

Joe Bonamassa - "Get Back My Tomorrow"

But that won't get back my tomorrow

It's a bitter pill to swallow
Can you taste the pain and sorrow?

José Feliciano - It Hasn't Stopped Raining

You're not here anymore
A kiss from another mouth
Is like a bitter pill that's very hard to swallow
Let me, and the thing is that you don't see

Placebo - Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)

Any means in your horizon
Heaven in a tourniquet
The after life to keep your eyes on
Bitter pill you take today

Sweetbox - Don't Push Me

[2x]

And I'm, not trying to be giving you a bitter pill,
no I!

U2 - Van Diemen's Land

For to face Van Diemen's land.

It's a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear.