(n.) Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.
Example Sentences:
(1) Analysts and industry watchers say it is too soon to judge the mettle of Lewis and new finance director Alan Stewart, whose tenure can still be measured in weeks.
(2) His son has yet to prove his mettle on the political stage.
(3) It’s in these barren parts that the Edwards air force base is located, where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time, and where the test pilots celebrated in Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff proved their mettle before going on to become America’s first astronauts.
(4) First of all it puts the prime minister on their mettle.
(5) Our job is to co-ordinate the response, to see that this plays through, at least in the first phase, sweetly.” Nonetheless it is a mighty test for little Malta, which now has to prove its mettle as a European force to be reckoned with, fighting for the interests of the EU above those of the UK.
(6) Arsenal's defeat at Stoke and Manchester City's engagement in the Capital One Cup final meant victory would propel them into second place, a challenge to which teams of less mettle would not have risen.
(7) She is the founder and chief executive of Spark+Mettle , a charity that aims to help people flourish.
(8) Whether we have had the mettle to stay the course in delivering effective government for our country at a time of crisis.
(9) One of those funded is Discoverables Ltd, a company limited by shares set up by youth charity Spark+Mettle.
(10) He was a leader writer and then senior editor on the Times for the best part of a decade and showed his intellectual mettle as a member of Radio 4's Moral Maze panel.
(11) Visitors can rent a canoe from Thorncrest Outfitters in Tobermory, test their mettle by boulder-climbing in more remote spots, or scramble through caves along the lakeshores.
(12) The former World Bank economist is widely seen as a loyal timeserver, whose priority has been to maintain the Congress grip on power until Rahul Gandhi , a former management consultant still widely seen as yet to prove his political mettle, was ready to take what some see as his birthright.
(13) Michael Aston says: "Gotta feeling Ravens will win handily, not convinced San Fran have the mettle for this type of game against a vicious, tireless D and Flaco has been stellar lately.
(14) We do need to invest – in transport, in communications, in skills and, in fact, in our public services – because unless we have an educated and trained workforce, unless we have healthy workers, we are not going to be able to tackle that pretty grim picture on productivity, which caps our aspiration and caps our living standards.” Having worked closely with Vince Cable, the Lib Dem business secretary who lost his seat in May, and with new Tory ministers keen to show their cost-cutting mettle, she is concerned about whether Javid will put as much emphasis on industrial strategy.
(15) Insurgents have take advantage of Kabul's distracted state, launching some of the large offensives around the country to test the mettle of the fledgling security force.
(16) Such conservatives wanted Boehner to show more mettle in standing up to President Obama, particularly over their desire to see the women’s health organisation Planned Parenthood , which provides abortions, stripped of federal funding – an issue that brought the possibility of a shutdown to the fore.
(17) "Let us bring about a radical turn in the building of an economic giant with the same spirit and mettle as were displayed in conquering space."
(18) The 43-year-old, who entered parliament in 2004 when Congress returned to power, has struggled to convince voters and analysts, as well as many within his party, that he has the mettle for the brutal rough and tumble of politics in the world's largest democracy.
(19) You might think that when you train a skilled engineer to clean furniture – on the basis that the reason for his idleness was that he'd got out of the habit of work, that he needed to prove his mettle with whatever menial task you chose for him – there's a moral case to answer here, too.
(20) And so the performance, rehearsed with the professionals and now played with them, proceeds on its mettle – boisterous and ebullient, ending in applause.
Spunk
Definition:
(n.) Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou.
(n.) An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of spunk.
Example Sentences:
(1) Other countries across the world have had the spunk within them to rise up and overthrow the society that allows such inequality and unfairness to thrive.
(2) In the face of recurring jokes about spunk, shit and piss (the three most resilient weapons in any gross-out film-maker's arsenal), shock value soon took a tumble.
(3) That phenomenal voice and talent and the spunk that she has, I really admire all that.
(4) And, ironically, I couldn't mend it, as you'd smeared the last of your Copydex all over your hands while shouting: "I spunked up while watching Cagney & Lacey !"
(5) It's all about setting goals #NEDvsAUS June 18, 2014 4.40pm BST Brian Russell sees some Dutch in the Aussies, kind of: "I applaud the optimism and raging Aussie spunk of Jeremy Boyce and Johan van Slooten," he writes, "but all the facts points to a pretty comprehensive Dutch win today.
(6) And it makes SATC's bunny rabbit and "funky spunk" episodes look like Pillow Talk.
(7) Chances are their parents have already spunked everything they own.
(8) My recollection is, two days later we were playing a gig in Germany and we probably spunked it all on beer."
(9) Mom downplays most of the negatives I've written about, just like she did with unpleasantness when I was growing up, and she shows astonishing spunk in promoting the book.
(10) But it was never like, 'Let's spunk it on drugs and booze!'