IdiomFood & Drink
Dutch
Dutcheen bittere pil
Meaning: something unpleasant or difficult that one must accept.
Literally: Bitter pill
Example: “Het verlies in de finale was een bittere pil.” — Losing the final was a bitter pill to swallow.
English equivalent: Bitter pill to swallow
Origin: Medicines were bitter, and pills had to be swallowed whatever they tasted like. Stoett records een bittere pil moeten slikken, having to accept something painful or unpleasant, alongside English "a bitter pill to swallow" and French avaler la pilule. Pharmacists once coated pills in gold or silver leaf to make them easier to take, hence the related de pil vergulden (to gild the pill).
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: mal trago Literally: Bad swallow
English: bitter pill to swallow
French: Avaler des poires d'angoisse Literally: To swallow pears of anguish
More Dutch idioms
- met de kippen op stok gaan to go to bed very early, at sunset.
- vuur met vuur bestrijden to counter a harmful action using the same method or intensity.
- uit de hand lopen to become uncontrolled or chaotic.
- achter slot en grendel imprisoned or confined.
- het zit tussen de oren in one's mind or thoughts.
- in de clinch liggen To be in conflict or at odds with someone.
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