Extreme boldness or nerve, sometimes meaning bravery in the face of danger, but often implying audacious disrespect or cheek.
From Yiddish 'khutspah,' which comes from Hebrew 'hutzpah' meaning 'brazenness' or 'impudence.' The word entered English in the early 1900s from Jewish communities and is now widely used in American English.
Chutzpah is one of the best examples of a Yiddish word that Americans adopted because English didn't have exactly the right word for that specific kind of bold, cheeky nerve! Even though we have 'audacity' and 'boldness,' chutzpah captures something perfectly unique.
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