The story
When Finland held off a far larger army in the winter of 1939, Time magazine explained the country to its readers with this single word. Sisu is what remains after courage has been used up. The English word that gets closest is grit.
sisu
SEE-soo[ˈsisu]
Pronunciation: Robertsilen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commonsstubborn courage past the point of reason — grit
Closest in English: grit, perseverance, tenacity. None of them covers it.
How it went in the game
Contains the answers. If you want to play the word yourself first, leave this closed.
- Which language is it from?Finnish
- How does it sound to native speakers?Everyday, and a point of pride
- Where would you hear it?Kilometre 38 of a marathon, in sleet
- What does it mean?Stubborn courage when all looks lost