Definition
Difficult to believe, accept, or tolerate; referring to information, explanations, or situations that seem implausible or unacceptable.
Etymology
This phrase extends the physical act of swallowing difficult substances to the mental act of accepting difficult ideas. The metaphor developed in the 18th-19th centuries, building on the established connection between digestion and mental processing that appears in many languages and cultures.
Kelly Says
The swallowing metaphor reveals something fascinating about how we conceptualize learning and acceptance - we literally use digestive language for mental processes. Cognitive scientists have found that people actually engage similar brain regions when processing disgusting tastes and morally repugnant ideas, suggesting this metaphor reflects real neurological connections.
Translations
ARالعربية
صعب البلع
ṣaʿb al-balaʿ
CSČeština
těžko polykat
cɛʒko polɪkat
DADansk
svært at synke
sʋæɐ̯d at syŋə
DEDeutsch
schwer zu schlucken
ʃveːɐ̯ tsu ˈʃlʊkn
ELΕλληνικά
δύσκολο να καταπιεί
ðiskolo na katapie
ESEspañol
difícil de tragar
diˈfisil de traˈɣar
FISuomi
vaikea niellä
vɑi̯keɑ̯ nie̯lːæ
FRFrançais
difficile à avaler
difisil a avale
HEעברית
קשה לבלוע
kaʃe levaloʿ
HIहिन्दी
निगलना मुश्किल
nigalna mushkil
HUMagyar
nehéz lenyelni
nehez lenyelni
IDBahasa Indonesia
sulit ditelan
sulit ditelan
ITItaliano
difficile da digerire
difitʃiˈle da diʒeˈriːre
JA日本語
のどに詰まる
nodoni tsumaru
KO한국어
삼키기 어려운
samkigi eoryeoun
NLNederlands
moeilijk te slikken
muːilɛk tə slɪkən
NONorsk
vanskelig å svelge
vɑnskəlɪɡ o ˈsʋɛlɡə
PLPolski
trudno połknąć
trudno poʊknaɲt͡ɕ
PTPortuguês
difícil de engolir
dʒiˈfisiw dʒi eŋɡoˈliʁ
RORomână
greu de înghițit
ɡreʊ de ɨnɡit͡s
RUРусский
трудно проглотить
trudno praloglit'
SVSvenska
svårt att svälja
svoːrt at svɛlja
THไทย
กลืนไม่เข้าคอ
kleun mai khao kho
TRTürkçe
yutkunması zor
yutkunması zor
UKУкраїнська
важко ковтати
vaʒko kovtaty
VITiếng Việt
khó nuốt
kho nuot
ZH中文
难以接受
nán yǐ jiē shòu