Yeggman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A burglar or safecracker often skilled in breaking into secured spaces
2. An individual who specializes in stealing money or valuables from safes or similar locations
3. A criminal associated with the act of robbery, particularly involving the technical breaching of safes or locked areas

Etymology: "Yeggman" is a compound of "yegg" and "man," and the first half is the more interesting part. A yegg was an American criminal slang term for a burglar, especially one who specialized in blowing open safes, and the word took hold in the early twentieth century among the professional thieves of the United States. The "man" added to it simply names the person, so a yeggman is the individual who does the job, a safecracker in the old underworld sense. The origin of "yegg" itself is murky, and the reliable record is thin, so the word's real claim to fame is its place in the slang of its era rather than any tidy backstory. Its appeal lies in how plainly it names a trade: the compound leaves no doubt about what kind of man is meant.