It took a lot of chutzpah to stand up to him the way she did.
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The word chutzpah has been boldly circulating through English since the mid-1800s. It comes from the Yiddish word khutspe, which comes in turn from the Hebrew word ḥuṣpāh. The ch in chutzpah indicates a rasping sound from the back of the throat that exists in many languages, including Yiddish. That sound is not part of English phonology, so it follows that the c is sometimes dropped in both the pronunciation and spelling of the word. Some speakers of Yiddish feel that chutzpah has been diluted in English use, no longer properly conveying the monumental nature of the gall that is implied. A classic example can be found in Leo Rosten’s 1968 book The Joys of Yiddish, which defines chutzpah as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”
had the chutzpah to demand that he be treated as a special case and be given priority in settling his insurance claim
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History is full of people who practiced tasteful chutzpah at scale.—Julia Korn, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025 Fortunately, Kiari underscores Offset’s critical gifts, tapping into his chutzpah while demonstrating even more growth.—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2025 And that gives a government body the chutzpah to pass legislation levying $1.50 tax on every online purchase delivered except for groceries and pharmaceuticals.—Paul Miller, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025 That is what makes Operation Spiderweb such a breathtaking combination of chutzpah and expertise.—Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 8 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for chutzpah
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