A Rude Awakening

How would you like to be awakened by the sound of a burglar blowing up a safe? Not exactly a rooster crow.

I had never heard the word “yegg” before, so decided to look into it. Apparently it is an old American slang word for a burglar or robber, especially one who cracks safes. However, the origin of the word itself is a mystery. From dictionary.com: 1925–30, Americanism ;  of obscure origin; the proposals that the word is < German Jäger  “hunter” or that it is the surname of a well-known safecracker are both very dubious.

Interesting! Unfortunately, it appears that the mystery of the exploding safe was never solved – or if it was, it wasn’t reported in the Chatham Record. A clue was found the following week, a stolen bicycle accompanied by dynamite used to blow the safe, but no follow up report was issued. Alas, it seems that those yeggmen got away with their crime after all, and the equivalent of about $6300 in today’s terms!

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