hutzpah

Hutzpah is shameless audacity or nerve—the kind of brazen boldness that can be admired or condemned depending on context.

Someone shows hutzpah by making outrageous demands, acting without deference to authority, or pursuing goals others would consider presumptuous: It takes real hutzpah to ask for a raise after being late every day.

The word comes from Yiddish and carries a flavor of grudging respect mixed with disbelief.

Also spelled chutzpah.