Another one you’ve probably heard of. Chutzpah is quite tricky to pronounce but here goes: ch-oot-spa. You need to imagine the ‘ch’ part spoken at the back of the throat, as if you were trying to clear a small flying insect that you’d inadvertantly inhaled. Or, if you are Dutch, Flemish or Welsh, it’ll be easy!
Anyway, on with the word itself. Chutzpah comes from an old Hebrew word, roughly translated as “acting with no shame” but in modern Yiddish and English, it means nerve, front, gall or guts. It can be used negatively (He took a hundred pounds off me at poker, then had the chutzpah to ask if I’d lend him ten until Tuesday) but more often it is used in a positive sense (She walked straight into the party, wearing only a fur coat, acting like she owned the place – that girl has some chutzpah).
Have you ever heard it in conversation? Post your examples below.
Interesting point of the week. Ish
An old pal of mine from York, Chris Helme, started his musical career as a singer/guitarist in a band called Chutzpah.
Chris went on to front The Seahorses – fromed by ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.
They recorded the hit album Love Me Then Leave Me and had a NumberThree hit single with Love Is The Law (plus a couple of others) before disbanding cos Squire’s a nutter.
It is strongly rumoured that Squire chose the name The Seahorses as it’s an anagram of ‘He hates roses’. And it is. So there.
Well, we live and learn! I have heard The Seahorses but never knew about the origin of the name.