yegg

Definition

A person who breaks open safes; a burglar.

Etymology

Origin unknown.

Example Sentences

• "1904, Edwin S. Porter (director), Capture of the ‘Yegg’ Bank Burglars"
• "She was frankly disappointed. For some reason she had expected to discover a burglar of one or another accepted type—either a dashing cracksman in full-blown evening dress, lithe, polished, pantherish, or a common yegg, a red-eyed, unshaven, burly brute in the rags and tatters of a tramp."
• "‘These racketeers are a new type. We think about them the way we think about old time yeggs or needled-up punks.’"