To Have Nerve

Welcome to English in a minute!

Nerves are body parts that send information to the brain.

To Have Nerve

Yet I have a feeling Anna and Jonathan are not talking about body parts.

Anna: so I was sitting on the train on my way to work, when this woman comes up to me and says, Wow! Your hair looks terrible …

Jonathan: Wow! That took some nerve.

Anna: I know! I would never have the nerve to talk to a complete stranger like that.

The expression “to have nerve” has to meanings.

One means to not be afraid to make an offensive, or rude, comment.

The other is to be brave enough to do something dangerous or difficult. Anna and Jonathan used an example of the first meaning.

And that’s English in a minute.