Chutzpah

[wombat2u2004]

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, sheer guts plus arrogance.

It's Yiddish and, as Leo Rosten writes, no other word and no other language can do it justice.

This example is better than 1,000 words...

THE ESSENCE OF CHUTZPAH...

A little old lady sold pretzels on a street corner for 25 cents each..



Every day a young man would leave his office building at lunch time, and as he passed the pretzel stand, he would leave her a quarter, but never take a pretzel.

And this went on for more than 3 years.

The two of them never spoke.

One day, as the young man passed the old lady's stand and left his quarter as usual, the pretzel lady spoke to him.

Without blinking an eye she said:

"They're 35 cents now."

[smokey the elder]

Funny!

[Catty1]

I have read both the old and new editions of Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish and I love them! I wanted to add the wonderful definition of chutzpah that is in there:

The classic definition of chutzpa is, of course, this:
Chutzpa is 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.

[lvpets2002]

Well there ya go.. Nothing like a woman telling ya whats what.. Too Funny

[gini]

This is really funny Wom!!