a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

Alternative forms

 * a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down

Etymology
From the Sherman Brothers' 1964 song "A Spoonful of Sugar".

Proverb

 * 1) An otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.
 * 2) * 2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,
 * If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.
 * 1) * 2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,
 * If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.

Related terms

 * sugarcoat a bitter pill

Translations

 * Danish: lidt sukker i skeen, hvis din medicin er sur
 * Dutch: een klein schepje suiker wordt een bittere pil zoet
 * Finnish: lääkkeen karvaan sä sokerilla makeaksi saat
 * French: un morceau de sucre aide la médecine à couler
 * German: ein Löffelchen voll Zucker bittre Medizin versüßt
 * Icelandic: smá sykur hjálpar til við að halda lækninum frá
 * Italian: un poco di zucchero la pillola va giù
 * Spanish: un poquito de azúcar toda purga endulzará