gumptions

Noun

gumption (usually uncountable, plural gumptions)

1. (Ireland, UK, usually) Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.
   • Gumption, or rum gumption, docility, comprehenſion, capacity.[1785, [Francis Grose], “Gumption, or rum gumption”, in A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, London: […] S[amuel] Hooper, […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   gumph

2. (US, usually) Boldness of enterprise; aggressiveness or initiative.
   • "You've got a hard way of looking at things, Scarlett," he said. "But you think Hugh over. You could go far and do worse. I think his honesty and his willingness will outweigh his lack of gumption. Scarlett did not answer, for she did not want to be too rude. But to her mind there were few, if any...1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XXXVIII, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 666

   Synonyms:

   chutzpah, gumph, gump, guts, spunk

3. (US, usually) Energy of body and mind, enthusiasm.
   • A person filled with gumption doesn't sit around dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what's up the track and meeting it when it comes. That's gumption.1974, Robert M[aynard] Pirsig, chapter 26, in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow & Company, →ISBN, part III, page 303

   Synonyms:

   gumph