chutzpah

Definition

Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.

Etymology

Originated c. 1890–95 from Yiddish חוצפּה (khutspe), which was either borrowed via Medieval Hebrew or directly came from Aramaic חוּצְפָּא (ḥuṣpā, “audacity, boldness”), derived from חֲצַף (ḥăṣap̄, “to be impudent, arrogant”).

Example Sentences

• "If the service is rotten and the meal a disaster, we should withhold a tip and explain why we are doing so. Few of us have the chutzpah to do this."
• "But seriously, the ability to just come out and put on a placard that the Jurassic era is temporally contiguous with the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt — well, there’s a word for that, and that word is chutzpah."
• "Okay, okay, okay… First of all, “shutspah” is actually pronounced “khootspah”. But, but-but-but the idea, the idea that daily fantasy sites are using this law to claim they’re not gambling is not chutzpah, it’s khorseshit!"

Related Words