horse pill

Noun

horse pill (plural horse pills)

1. (humorous, idiomatic, mildly, sometimes) A medicinal pill which is very large in size and is therefore difficult for a person to swallow.
   • I'm lucky enough to remember to take my horse pill, much less drop it into a glass and wait 45 minutes.2002 June 26, “CNN.com - Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Vitamins and Alzheimer's”, in CNN, retrieved 25 Nov 2013
   • I do know that I feel better when I remember to take my multivitamin, iron and vitamin D supplements, and the occasional fish oil horse pill.2008 December 31, Becky Jungbauer, “Vitamin Supplements: Fact Or Folklore?”, in Science 2.0, retrieved 25 Nov 2013
2. (broadly, idiomatic) A fact, proposal, claim, etc. that is difficult to accept or believe.
   • Even pro-Soviet Communists will find the Geneva accord a difficult horse pill to swallow.1967 August 26, Harry Schwartz, “Answer To Soviet Shift: China”, in St. Petersburg Times, retrieved 25 Nov 2013, page 8A
   • Mac Carey, an aide to leading tax-cut crusaders in Congress, called the draft language in Reagan's radio speech "a horse pill. It's very difficult to swallow."1984 August 4, “Reagan will pledge to preserve tax cut, sources say”, in The News and Courier, retrieved 25 Nov 2013, page 8A

   Synonyms:

   hard pill to swallow

3. (animal husbandry) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see horse, pill: a pill for horses, sometimes a large one.