Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
take one's lumps en · VERB
Pronunciation
Meanings
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(slang) To receive physical abuse and to survive.
When frustrated tacklers finally do catch up with him, Arnett knows how to take his lumps. "If I hit the ground tensely, rigidly, and two tons of angry linemen landed on top of me, they'd break every bone in my body."
1960 December 5, “Artful Dodgers”, in Time:
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(figuratively, slang) To endure through criticism or other adversity.
1987, David Fellman, "A Renowned Civil Libertarian," (review of Zechariah Chafee, Jr.: Defender of Liberty and Law by Donald L. Smith), The Review of Politics, vol. 49, no. 3, p. 444,
As is the case with so many outspoken civil libertarians, Chafee took his lumps. He was strongly criticized by several Harvard Law School graduates.
Forms
Synonyms
tough it out