What someone might
say when serving
tea or
coffee in a
formal setting. It
refers to how many
cubes of
sugar one would like in their
beverage.
When I hear that phrase, I always immediately think of the cartoons from my childhood. The protagonist asks the antagonist, "One lump or two?" After the antagonist replies, the protagonist will bash the antagonist on the head the appropriate number of times. (with possibly a few more for good measure) Then the exact number of lumps would rise several inches above the antagonist's noggin.