Chutzpah (Yiddish: חוצפה - /ˈxʊtspə, ˈhʊt-/)[1][2] is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. A close English equivalent is sometimes "hubris". The word derives from the Hebrew ḥuṣpāh (חֻצְפָּה), 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[3] the word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has.[4][5]
If you say that someone has chutzpah, you mean that you admire the fact that they are not afraid or embarrassed to do or say things that shock, surprise, or annoy other people. [approval] "Einstein had the chutzpah to discard long-established theory."