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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, particularly "lumps": He knows how to take his lumps in public. My comments: First of all, this means he, whoever, knows how to handle himself in public, especially when he's down. Specifically, for example, if he does something wrong. he's good sport enough to admit it and accept criticism without complaint. That's what we can safely infer from someone taking their lumps well. Lumps are things you want to, as it were, lump together, i.e. without bothering to further differentiate because they're uninteresting. Taking one's lumps, an American idiom, may better be learned together with another expression, like it or lump it. Yes, this means willingly or unwillingly, you've got to take it. In other words, if you like it, enjoy it. If you don't like it, bear with it. Again, we can appreciate this phrase using food. If it's a delicious piece of meat, you like to chew it and savor it for a moment before swallowing it bit by bit. If it's a lump of unsavory meat or vegetable, you tend to swallow it in whole, i.e. without bothering to find out exactly how it tastes. Metaphorically, "lump" may stand for anything that's uninteresting or unpleasant, be it unsavory food or any other type of difficulty or adversity. Taking one's lumps means taking one's set back or punishment, suffering the consequences of one's conduct without fuss. In our example, taking one's lumps means "he" handles himself well in public, taking criticism with good grace and humbleness, for example, without complaint. | 
