bitter pill

noun

1. 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.

Example Sentences

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

From BBC

"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.

From BBC

This will be another bitter pill for McIlroy to swallow at the end of a week that for a long time promised to deliver one of the most stirring wins of his career.

From BBC

"It was lovely, he brought his mum along to see it and that's why this is such a bitter pill to swallow," Mr Jenkins said.

From BBC

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways. There are days where I say, why me? And then I go, well, why not me? Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do.”

From Los Angeles Times