# take one's medicine

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/take-ones-medicine
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To endure an unpleasant obligation, especially a punishment.

## Examples

- You made a mistake, so you must take your medicine.
- I broke the window, so now I have to take my medicine.
- The team lost the game fairly, so they had to take their medicine and congratulate the winners.
- The politician knew the voters were angry about the new tax, so he went on television to take his medicine and answer their tough questions.
- After skipping class all week, the student had to take her medicine when the teacher assigned her a Saturday detention.
- After the audit revealed significant financial mismanagement, the executive had to take his medicine and accept the board's decision to terminate his contract.

## Origin

Derived from the observation that curative substances are frequently disagreeable to the palate. The idiom relies upon the specific tension between the long-term benefit of a treatment and the immediate unpleasantness of its consumption. As the efficacy of a remedy was historically associated with the bitterness of its flavour, the act of ingestion became a metaphor for the stoic acceptance of a necessary but distasteful consequence.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.