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take the bitter with the sweet

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Take the bitter with the sweet.

Prov. Accept the bad things as well as the good things that happen. (Implies that the bad and good things you are talking about are very serious or important.) If you intend to get married, you must be prepared to take the bitter with the sweet.

See also: bitter, sweet, take

take the bitter with the sweet

Accept adversity as well as good fortune, as in Although he got the job, he hadn't counted on having to work with Matthew; he'll just have to take the bitter with the sweet . This idiom uses bitter for "bad" and sweet for "good," a usage dating from the late 1300s. It was first recorded in John Heywood's 1546 proverb collection. For a synonym, see take the rough with the smooth.

See also: bitter, sweet, take