Is he signaling anti-Semitic Marco Rubio voters in New Hampshire? Is he signaling Donald Trump voters? Because, you know, the gold-plated WASPy billionaire from Queens is not Jewish, which I’m sure the vast majority of people are aware of. Or is he, by using the word chutzpah, really saying: you don’t want these imaginary Jewish values of Trump.

If that’s the case, Cruz has done an abysmal job. He’s been about as pro-Israel as any politician. This doesn’t mean Jews should automatically embrace him, but it’d be peculiar positioning for candidate vying for the Bircher vote. Guys who have actively sought the Orthodox Jewish vote—“I share a great many values with the Jewish community and the Orthodox community,” Cruz told one group not long ago—don’t usually use this kind of coded language. Then again, these imaginary dog whistles probably say more about how many liberals view the middle of America than it does about middle of America.

One of my favorite uses of the word, incidentally, can be found in a piece from 2008, called “The Audacity of Chutzpah,” where a Washington Post columnist named Dana Milbank mocks Democrats who are concerned that Obama might not turn out to be a greatest friend of Israel. What a bunch of nuts, right?