Idioms

An idiom a day - to use in conversation for fun, or in your your exams to get a few extra marks ....or just for the love of  learning something new.

If you want to add information or ask a question about any of the idioms, go to the bottom of the page and add a comment on the forum

Enjoy!

Today's idiom: like it or lump it

Click here to see the idiom in use.

This means that something that you will not like is going to happen, but you just have to accept it - there is no choice. Basically the same as "take it or leave it".

But where did this meaning of lump come from?

Usually, the word 'lump' is used as a noun - an indistinct mass of something:

a lump of dough

a lump in a sauce (grumo)

But also:

 "a lump in your throat" (un nodo alla gola)

How many lumps of sugar do you want in your tea? (cubetto di zucchero)

It is less common to use "lump" as a verb - though the most common use is now "to lump together" - to put a group of things together in no particular order

However, the meaning here refers to a common use in the 16th century which was:

to lump - to look unhappy or disagreeable ...hence the opposite of to show that you like something