Chutzpah

Chutzpah ( - ) is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. A close English equivalent is sometimes " hubris". The word derives from the Hebrew ' (), meaning "insolence", "cheek" or "audacity". Thus, the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation, but the form which entered English as a Yiddishism in American English has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in film, literature, and television. In American English the word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has.

Etymology

The term entered the English language some time between 1890–95 from Yiddish חוצפּה (ḥuṣpâ). It was used in Mishnaic Hebrew, חוֹצְפָּה (ḥôṣǝpâ), from חָצַף (ḥāṣap, “to be insolent”), though it is believed to come initially from Aramaic, חֲצִיפָא (ḥăṣîpāʾ), חֲצַף (ḥaṣap, “to be barefaced, insolent”).

In Hebrew, ''chutzpah'' is used indignantly, to describe someone who has overstepped the boundaries of accepted behavior. In traditional usage, the word expresses a strong sense of disapproval, condemnation and outrage.

Leo Rosten in '' The Joys of Yiddish'' defines chutzpah as "gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible 'guts', presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to". In this sense, ''chutzpah'' expresses both strong disapproval and condemnation. In the same work, Rosten also defines the term 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".

''Chutzpah'' amounts to a total denial of personal responsibility, which renders others speechless and incredulous.

The cognate of ''ḥuṣpāh'' in Classical Arabic, ' (), does not mean "impudence" or "cheekiness" or anything similar, but rather "sound judgment".

Rabbinical literature

Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis distinguishes the meaning of ''chutzpah'' as stubbornness and contrariness from what he calls a tradition of "spiritual audacity" or "''chutzpah klapei shmaya''":

As an example, Schulweis cites a case where Moses argues with God about the justice of His commands:

English usage

Israeli politics

The word Chutzpah is sometimes used in discussions of Israeli politics. For example: ''"Will Far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Chutzpah Trigger a Third Intifada?"'' was the headline of an article in Haaretz, by Amos Harel, their military and defense analyst in both Hebrew and English, in February 2023.

Yiddish legal opinion

Judge Alex Kozinski and Eugene Volokh in an article entitled ''Lawsuit Shmawsuit'', note the rise in use of Yiddish words in legal opinion. They note that ''chutzpah'' has been used 231 times in American legal opinions, 220 of those after 1980. ''Chutzpah'' first appeared in a Supreme Court decision in 1998, in National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, when Justice Antonin Scalia used it to describe the NEA's brazenness in asking for government funding.Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, "The Whole Spiel: Funny essays about digital nudniks, seder selfies and chicken soup memories," Incompra Press, 2016; p. 118.

Other languages

The Polish word ''hucpa'' (pronounced �xut͜spa is also derived from this term, although its meaning is closer to 'insolence' or 'arrogance', and so it is typically used in a more negative sense instead of denoting a positive description of someone's audacity.

Similarly, the German form of "chutzpah" is ''Chuzpe''. In Czech, ''chucpe'' is commonly used with a sharply negative connotation. The Dutch noun ''gotspe'' is also related and refers to a brazen or shameless act or situation.

In popular culture

In the Hindi-language film '' Haider'' (2014) by Vishal Bharadwaj, a modern-day interpretation of Hamlet set against the backdrop of Kashmir in the midst of political conflict, the protagonist uses the word, which he pronounces as /'tʃʊtspə/ instead of /ˈhʊtspə/ or /ˈxʊtspə/ to describe India's way of treating the people of Kashmir since the beginning of the conflict.

A Hindi-language streaming television series titled '' Chutzpah'' premiered on Sony Liv in 2021.

Jewish American Senator Ron Wyden wrote a book, ''It Takes Chutzpah,'' advocating for progressivism.

See also

* Gopnik
* Cojones
* Firgun
* Hubris
* Sisu
* List of English words of Yiddish origin

References

External links

{{wiktionary

Chutzpah Pronunciation

Chutzpah - on Jewish English Lexicon

Yiddish words and phrases
Personality traits
Words and phrases describing personality