Definition of CHUTZPAH – CHUTZPAH in a Sentence

Definition of CHUTZPAH – CHUTZPAH in a Sentence

The meaning of CHUTZPAH generates much discussion. There are various views on the real meaning – dictionary definitions versus common usage.

This video explains the meaning of CHUTZPAH from 2 viewpoints and then provides 6 illustrated examples which clearly demonstrate the various meanings.

CHUTZPAH is very common in American English and regularly crops up in news items. Get a deeper understanding of the meaning of CHUTZPAH from this video and increase your vocabulary.

Here is a transcript of the video ” What is the Meaning of CHUTZPAH? ” . . .

Slide 2:
The word CHUTZPAH is a Yiddish word originating in Hebrew. There is some debate over the true meaning of CHUTZPAH. We will consider two opinions.

The common understanding in English dictionaries is that it describes a person who has shameless audacity, one who is brazen. It is used in a negative way.

In informal English, “what a nerve” or
“he/she has a nerve” well describes
the idea behind CHUTZPAH.

Slide 3:
Leo Rosten (1908-1997), a humorist and an expert in Yiddish lexicography, gives this example: It’s the quality a person has who kills his mother and father, and then asks for mercy from the court because he’s an orphan!

Slide 4:
The picture shows a street seller in Istanbul selling the Turkish circular bread called Simit.

Every day for many months a rich businessman passed an elderly street seller and gave him 1 Lira but said he didn’t want any bread. He just wanted to help him.

One day, as the business man passes, the street seller says: “I have to tell you the price has gone up, they are now 1.50.”

Now that is chutzpah!

Slide 5:
When Russian punk band Pussy Riot staged a performance inside a Moscow Cathedral in 2012, some saw it, not so much as a protest, but as an act of chutzpah.

Slide 6:
On the other hand, when you hear Israelis talk about this word, it is often used in a more positive context.

It describes a person who is extremely confident,
courageous and bold, who has an appetite for risk, (“has the guts” informal English).

It can be used to describe a person who has the courage to break conventional rules, who is not afraid to ignore barriers and employ imagination without limits, regardless of what others think.

Slide 7:
While there are various strong opinions about Donald Trump, many would agree he had chutzpah!

Slide 8:
In the picture we see famous actor Morgan Freeman who played the role of Nelson Mandela in the 2009 movie Invictus, about events in South Africa during the Rugby World Cup in 1995.

In view of the daunting task of playing the part of Nelson Mandela onscreen, Morgan Freeman told the BBC it took “chutzpah and arrogance” to play the statesman.

Slide 9:
Some say it was sheer chutzpah that caused Tesla, a new company from outside the car industry, to successfully build and market a new automobile in the United States.

Slide 10:
So when you the see or hear the word CHUTZPAH, look for the meaning according to the context. Remember, the definition of chutzpah includes two meanings:

It could refer to something that is shameless, audacious, and brazen.

Or it might refer to the quality in a person that makes them confident, courageous, willing to take risks, and prepared to go against conventional wisdom.

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If you are interested in the definition of CHUTZPAH and seeing CHUTZPAH in a sentence, be sure to check another word taken from another language:
What is the Meaning of VOILA?

Image Credits

Slide 2 – attitude
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/99MJdW

Slide 3 – Leo Rosten
Public Domain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Rosten#/media/File:Leo_Rosten_1959.JPG

Slide 4 – street vendor
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/nJPGSG

Slide 5 – Pussy Riot
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/daqgMD

Slide 6 – Trump
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/MLzT8c

Slide 7 – Freeman
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/6qWZZz
Mandela
https://flic.kr/p/5SFLYW

Slide 8 – Tesla
Creative Commons
https://flic.kr/p/5X7ust

Regarding the use of illustrations and photographs used in this video:

Creative Commons Attribution Licence
Others are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform copyrighted work – and derivative works based upon it if they give credit to the creator or source.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Public Domain
Public domain works are not restricted by copyright and do not require a license or fee to use. Public domain status allows the user unrestricted access and unlimited creativity. These are typically very old works.