chutzpah

also n.

Utter nerve; effrontery: “has the chutzpah to claim a lock on God and morality” (New York Times).

[Yiddish khutspe, from Mishnaic Hebrew ḥuṣpâ, from ḥāṣap, to be insolent.]

Like all Yiddish words that have entered the English lexicon, chutzpah is difficult to translate yet wonderfully useful. In this case, Hillary and Bill Clinton were accused of having chutzpah (nerve, audacity) after they criticized President Bush for commuting Scooter Libby's prison sentence.

"'I don't know what Arkansan is for chutzpah but this is a gigantic case of it,' presidential spokesman Tony Snow said.... Bill Clinton is from the state of Arkansas. Chutzpah is the Yiddish word for brashness.... In the closing hours of his presidency, Clinton pardoned 140 people, including fugitive financier Marc Rich."

Link: Bush spokesman says Clintons have nerve for criticizing Bush on commuting former aide's prison term. - International Herald Tribune

Posted July 9, 2007.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

Unmitigated gall, generally unacceptable brazen behavior. In some types of business, it is regarded as an asset: a positive quality of heroic audacity or guts.

also hutzpah

noun

The state or quality of being impudent or arrogantly self-confident: assumption, audaciousness, audacity, boldness, brashness, brazenness, cheek, cheekiness, discourtesy, disrespect, effrontery, face, familiarity, forwardness, gall, impertinence, impudence, impudency, incivility, insolence, nerve, nerviness, overconfidence, pertness, presumptuousness, pushiness, rudeness, sassiness, sauciness. Informal brass, crust, sauce, uppishness, uppityness. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, courtesy/discourtesy.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - frejdighed grænsende til frækhed

Nederlands (Dutch)
gotspe

Français (French)
n. - toupet, culot

Deutsch (German)
n. - (ugs.) Chuzpe, Frechheit

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ξεδιαντροπιά, αυθάδεια

Italiano (Italian)
faccia tosta, sfacciataggine, impudenza

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bravura (f) (gír.)

Русский (Russian)
наглость

Español (Spanish)
n. - caradura

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fräckhet

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
厚脸皮, 放肆无礼

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 厚臉皮, 放肆無禮

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 뻔뻔스러움

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - あつかましさ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جرأة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חוצפה‬

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