What does yegg mean?
Yegg is an informal noun, chiefly associated with Australian and New Zealand English, for a thief or swindler. Depending on context, it can also mean a dishonest, contemptible, or otherwise unpleasant person. The word has a blunt, colloquial force and is generally used when the speaker wants to convey distrust, annoyance, or moral condemnation rather than neutral description. For example, a shopkeeper might call a suspected fraudulent customer a yegg, while a friend might use the word more loosely for someone whose behaviour is disgraceful. Yegg is not commonly used as a formal legal or sociological category, and its apparent similarity to egg does not make it a technical term or a standard form of that noun. Although the word sounds like a simple alteration of egg, its origin is not securely known, and modern dictionaries generally treat it as a distinct piece of slang.
nounAn informal term for a thief or swindler. It can also refer more generally to a dishonest, contemptible, or thoroughly unpleasant person.
- A thief, swindler, or dishonest person.
- A contemptible or thoroughly unpleasant person.
"The police warned residents that a notorious yegg had been operating in the neighbourhood."
"The shopkeeper suspected that the yegg had used a stolen credit card."
"That yegg sold us a fake and then vanished."
The regular plural is yeggs.
"The report described them as a pair of yeggs who had defrauded several businesses."
Yegg turns an everyday word into a distinctly Australian warning: encountering one is no breakfast surprise.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yegg
Yegg is chiefly associated with Australian slang and was in use by the early twentieth century. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, so it cannot confidently be derived from another word or connected with a definite family of cognates. It developed as a derogatory term for a thief or swindler, with the broader sense for a contemptible person arising naturally from that use.
Related word forms
How yegg is actually used
This is informal and chiefly associated with Australian and New Zealand English. It is often derogatory and can express strong distrust or contempt.
Easily confused with yegg
An egg is an object laid by a bird or other animal, whereas a yegg is a person, usually a thief or swindler.