Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Utter nerve; effrontery: "has the chutzpah to claim a lock on God and morality” ( New York Times).
Wiktionary
- n. Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion;
WordNet 3.0
- n. (Yiddish) unbelievable gall; insolence; audacity.
Etymologies
- Yiddish khutspe, from Mishnaic Hebrew ḥuṣpâ, from ḥāṣap, to be insolent; see ḥṣp in Semitic roots.
Examples
“And people I trust tell me I practically invented the word "chutzpah.”
The Huffington Post: Dovid Efune: Israel Without Rupert Murdoch
“I particularly enjoyed Jagger's contribution, doing the voice almost as well as Phil Cornwell used to do it in Stella Street, although I should have thought a lyric interpreter like Jagger might have made a better fist of pronouncing the Yiddish word chutzpah.”
The Guardian: Tendulkar or Talksport: July's ultimate Test | Martin Kelner
“Michele Bachman's failing attempt to pronounce the word "chutzpah" correctly last week was nothing short of ignorant.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Jason Miller: Michele Bachmann's Choot-spa Moment
“And people I trust tell me I practically invented the word chutzpah.”
The Huffington Post: Dovid Efune: Top 10 Non-Jews Positively Influencing The Jewish Future
“But the thing that really bugs me about Cheney's quote (again, he said, regarding torture, that: "The fact of the matter is the Justice Department reviewed all those allegations several years ago.") is that in using the Justice Department as justification, he brings to mind the old story used to define the Yiddish word chutzpah: Someone who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan.”
“I wrote earlier this month that McCain's claims of being an agent of change, when he was at the heart of everything that needed changing, was the ultimate example of the Yiddish word chutzpah (nerve).”
Mitchell Bard: It's Time for the "Deregulators" Like McCain to Step Aside and Shut Up
“There is an old story used to illustrate the meaning of the Yiddish word chutzpah (roughly translated as "nerve" or "gall"): A man kills his parents, and then throws himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan.”
Mitchell Bard: McCain's Claims of "Change" in His Acceptance Speech Are New Standard for Chutzpah
“With that in mind and the word chutzpah, which is a Yiddish expression for arrogance, we offer a couple of tidbits on our distinguished elected officials that labor down there in Washington D.C. The first one is that reptilian from C.lifornia C.ngressman Gary C.ndit, who late Friday raced into the courthouse to file his papers for re-election, just ahead of deadline.”
“Now that's what I call chutzpah: the Jewish contribution to the entertainment business A new exhibition celebrates the contribution of Jewish immigrants in helping to create Britain's popular culture.”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
“The traditional definition of the Yiddish word chutzpah is: a man who has chutzpah would kill both his parents, and then ask the judge for mercy since he is an orphan.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘chutzpah’.
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Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
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probablyankita's list
Words are all I have to take your heart away
apartheid, techno-klutz, logorrheic, gordian knot, anodyne, odor of sanctity, finders keepers, foot-in-mouth dis..., dutch uncle, masquerade, smoke signals, furtive glance and 320 more...
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Yiddishkeit
There are a few short lists of Yiddish words, but none appropriate to the glory of the language, and none that are open. Thought I'd start one, and would love contributions. I'm tagging as I go, an...
schmuck, nosh, chutzpah, shtick, kvetch, oy vey, oy gevalt, shvitz, shtik, shiksa, putz, mensch and 94 more...
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Headlines & Newsmakers
frugality, environment, extinction, bible, killer, jazz, cloning, dead, god, moon, global warming, bailout and 338 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plain hilarious
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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Gesundheit
Words that sound like sneezes
zucchini, zoology, wysiwyg, woodchuck, withhold, wichita, vacuum, twelfth, syzygy, synchronous, swatch, supersede and 120 more...
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zzzzzz
Featuring a zee or two.
pizzazz, syzygy, chutzpah, zip, zap, intermezzi, jazz, mizzenmast, zoonosis, razzamatazz, zamzodden, zounds and 1 more...
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fredrx's beautiful sounding list
two most beautiful words when put together
womb, philistine, poignant, wombastic, eschelon, macabre, precipitous, panache, misogynist, placebo, cacophony, aplomb and 43 more...
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Zee's zees
zounds, syzygy, pizzaz, zamzodden, xyzzy, zzzax, ziz, razzamatazz, razzmatazz, zoonosis, syzygy, chutzpah and 11 more...
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Dean Koontz Life Expectancy
Words I'm learning or investigating that I found by reading Life Expectancy (not all words are in the book).
chutzpah, luminous, torchieres, dunderheaded, inane, lummox, fox-trot, rumba, cha-cha, tango, swing, flub and 37 more...
gangerh Love The Classic, dbmag9, haven't heard it before.
Meanwhile, not as noteworthy, here's mine.
Fellow in a book shop goes to the counter with a book entitled 'Chutzpah' and says "I want this book and I'd like you to buy it for me." Feb 1, 2008
dbmag9 A boy is taken to court for murdering both of his parents. He pleads to the jury for mercy - after all, he is an orphan. Dec 2, 2006