Cheaky

[Alej]

An american friend says they dont have this word in the states, is there anything similar to it that they say other than 'rude'?

[football]

Hootspah is the same as cheeky I think that they would understand. Not sure about spelling or pronunciation.

[worder]

you would probably say that someone has the guts or the nerve to say or do something. i looked it up, and the synonims would be impudent, insolent, saucy, impertinent, all of which have a formal tone. hootspah never heard, neither is it in. my Webster's. i just see another word in the next page, sassy. this one is used and not as formal.

[maxi29]

I think you mean chutzpah, football. It's a Yiddish word (the classic definition is of a man who kills his parents and asks for mercy from the court as he's an orphan) and is a bit stronger then cheek (and it's a noun rather than an adjective). I don't think rude is quite the same as cheeky either; worder's sassy looks best to me.

[Ouisch]

"Chutzpah" would only be used by Jewish people, as a rule. Some Gentiles toss around Yiddish words naturally, like schmutz and schtick, but not chutzpah. Instead of "cheeky", we'd probably say "smart aleck" in polite company, "smart a**" otherwise.

[Alej]

thanks for the posts, i think sassy comes closest, still doesnt sound quite right though using it with some things such as saying 'a sassy little boy'...?

[Ouisch]

"Sassy little boy" is not too uncommon, but usually only used when referring to very small children. "Bratty little kid" might be another synonym. "Quit being a brat!" "Stop acting so spoiled!" "You give me lip one more time, and you'll live to regret it!" are some similar retorts. :)

[IndieSinger]

Someone call Social Services!

[Alej]

lol

[Headtime]

I have heard Americans use the the phrase "Don't be so CUTE"... I think that in the US Cute can also mean cheeky.

[zgma]

I think using "cute" to mean "cheeky" is a regional thing - I have heard it used that way in the US but wouldn't use it that way myself. "Chutzpah" USED to be only used by Jewish people; now I hear non-Jews use it too. Alej, for use with "little boy", I think "bratty" or "obnoxious" would come closest.

[norcom]

Try "brash", a bit literary, but an accurate translation. I've heard cheeky used here in the States, but only by the social elite, and old elite at that. Cheeky of me to say.

[Dark Angel]

I think "fresh" is also something like cheeky and rude. Like you tell someone, "Don't try to be fresh with me."

[Kingaroo]

As a Yank, I'll agreed with my countrymen's suggestions of fresh as adjective, smart-aleck as noun (He's a smart-aleck) Smart-aleck is related to wiseacre. Sassy sounds a little too admiring (there's a magazine for teen girls with that name, and an old shampoo brand I think, something smart-n-sassy), but a parent would certainly say "Don't you sass me!" or "Don't get smart with me!" Chutzpah is, to gentiles, "nerves" or "B*lls"