un (mal) trago: una experiencia difícil o desagradable.
-Tener que vender la finca ha sido un trago para todos — Having to sell the estate has been tough on everyone
-Podía haberme ahorrado este trago — I could have saved myself this unpleasant experience
-La pérdida de un compañero es siempre un trago amargo — The loss of a colleague is always a bitter pill to swallow / a bitter blow
-Pasamos un mal trago en la aduana de México. Me confundieron con un narcotraficante y nos tuvieron encerrados durante más de ocho horas — We had rough time of it at the Mexican border. They mistook me for a drug baron, and they had us locked up for over eight hours
