Chutzpah/hutzpah

[Cacasenno]

chutzpah

n. (Yiddish) nerve, gall, audacity, guts, boldness; self-confidence, courage, spunk
©Babylon English Dictionary


Example: while being condemned for killing his parents,
the defendant's plea for extenuating circumstances being an orphan.


Run up against it trying to understand the German word 'chuzpe'

[Slava]

I recently had an opportunity to use this wonderful word.

I live in a historic area of my city, and just last year the brick road my building fronts on was refurbished. Sadly, the GPS systems in many massive 18-wheelers have decided that the shortest route to the NY State thruway is along this small, arced, brick road.

In commenting on this to a neighbor, I said I wished I had the chutzpah to go out and stand in front of them and make them back up and go away.

Grr.

I suppose many other gutsy words would fit here, too, but that was the one I chose. Not as erudite as testicular fortitude, but rather less crude than cojones, don't you think?

[Stargzer]

Standing in front of an 18-wheeler? Chutzpah isn't the word! Try meshuge or perhaps mishegas! Then again, it probably takes a lot of chutpah to be that meshuge!

What says Perry?

[Slava]

Standing in front of an 18-wheeler? Chutzpah isn't the word! Try meshuge or perhaps mishegas! Then again, it probably takes a lot of chutpah to be that meshuge!

What says Perry?

The truck wouldn't be moving. They have to stop while the poor GPS-misguided driver figures out how to make the turn and curve. It's not quite like standing in front of a tank on Tienanmen Square.

[Perry]

Perry says that standing in front of the 18 wheeler is balls or intestinal fortitude. Chuztpah is more like cheek or gall.