bitterpill Difficult thing to swallow, figuratively What the reality of the oil spill has been, so to speak, for BP Result that is hard to accept Hard-to-accept situation Hard-to-accept result, figuratively Hard-to-accept consequence Hard thing to accept Distasteful dose Hard-to-accept consequence, metaphorically Unpleasant situation It may be hard to swallow It's hard to swallow Hard thing to swallow