- apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter
- посл.(apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter (тж. if the pills were pleasant, they would not be gilded))"аптекарь потому и подслащивает пилюли, что они горькие"
Большой англо-русский фразеологический словарь. - М.: «Русский язык-Медиа».. 2006.