sugarcoat the pill
Make bad palatable
To sugarcoat the pill is to make something unpleasant easier to accept by presenting it in a more palatable way.
The image comes from coating bitter medicine with sugar so it goes down easier.
He sugarcoated the pill by praising her work before delivering the criticism.
Often shortened to just sugarcoat: Don't sugarcoat it—tell me the truth.
- sweetenAdd sugar to
- sweeten the potIncrease what's at stake
- euphemizeExpress harshly indirectly
- placateLessen someone's anger
- make niceFeign cordiality after conflict
whitewash · mitigate · palliate · gloss over · alleviate · gild the lily · disguise · soften · reframe · mask · spin · soothe · temper · soft sell · mollify · ease · coax · cajole
sugarcoat the pillbrutal honesty
Unsparing directness in speech
tell it like it is · not mince words · lay it on the line · pull no punches · call a spade a spade
sugarcoat the pillrub salt in the wound
Deliberately worsen someone's distress
twist the knife · add insult to injury · harsh truth · burst someone's bubble · rub someone's nose in it
sugar, coat, pill, sugars, sugared, sugaring, sugarcoat, sugarcoated, sugarcoating