The Jerusalem Bridge

בעל־עגלהbalegole meaning in Yiddish

wagon driver, coachman; (figuratively) a crude, loud boor · noun (masculine; plural בעלי־עגלות, balegoles)
Illustration for the Yiddish word balegole

Before the boat there was the wagon, with a big man up front yelling at his horse in language nobody's grandmother admitted to hearing. The railway took his living and left him his reputation.

דער בעל־עגלה האָט אונדז געבראַכט ביז צום וואָקזאַל און געשאָלטן דאָס פֿערד דעם גאַנצן וועג.

“The wagon driver got us to the train station and cursed the horse the whole way.”

Who do you know who drives, or talks, like a balegole?

Yiddish insults and put-downsYiddish words for people and characters

Published 2 November 2026

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Yaacov, native Jerusalemite

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