The blast was also a bitter reminder of how commonplace violence and terrorism has become.
But the 49-year-old coach conceded that the defeat was a particularly bitter reminder of past failures.
"It's for people who could use all the advice they could get after the bitter reminder that it doesn't always work out," he said.
Or it could be the bitter, lasting reminder of every unresolved issue left between father and daughter.
And his raised, angry voice held the bitter reminder of the goal that wasn't.
It is a bitter reminder that man's inhumanity to man does not always move world leaders.
There was a bitter reminder there, for their numbers were still one short.
"If anything it is a bitter reminder of how people died."
It was a bitter reminder of the taunts she had endured from her fellow convicts.
The raid had served its purpose as a bitter reminder of the reality of our situation.