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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CONNACH, Conach, v. and n. [′kɔnəx]

1. v.

(1) To waste, be wasteful with (Bnff.², Abd.² 1937; Bnff. 2000s).ne.Sc. 1874 W. Gregor Echo of Olden Time 68:
He jist connachs the Scriptre; he taks a new text ilky Sunday.Abd.(D) 1755 R. Forbes Jnl. from London 28:
He connach'd a hantle o' tobacco; for deil belickit did he the hale gate bat feugh at his pipe.Mearns 1819 J. Burness Plays, Poems, etc. 310:
But fill the hale town fu' o' claivers, An' connach paper wi' his haivers; I ne'er kend sic a senseless beast.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 13:
Mebbe aa this cuid but connach braith.
There's monie a gow gaed aifter a wile,
fu-shair o't, yet fun', disjaskit, sair daith,
no hecht o life.

(2) To spoil, destroy; devour, consume. Ppl.adj. conached. Known to Bnff.² and Abd. correspondents (1937); Abd. 2000s.Sc. 1931 J. Lorimer Red Sergeant 169:
There came an interruption that connached our plan.L.Bnff. 1932 J. M. Caie in Abd. Univ. Review (July) 208:
Ye wad think she'd deaved an' connach't him for life.ne.Sc. 2004 Press and Journal 28 Jun 12:
My legacy o the day, though, is a sypin pair o kilt sheen. It wis like lowsin the pynts o a pair o sponges fin I got hame an ony mair drookit games will connach them aa thegither.Abd.(D) 1915 H. Beaton At the Back o' Benachie 42:
“Mony a braw silk goon was maistly connached” in such cases [the “bedding” at a bridal] by the men's top boots, etc.Abd. 1987 Donald Gordon The Low Road Hame 8:
An fit aboot me? Fegs, I wis fair connach't Me wi ma bad legs! Abd. 1991 David Ogston in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 118:
Sorter o connached things,
Christ the smith. Abd. 1995 Sheena Blackhall Lament for the Raj 8:
Ahin the monastery, doon bi the road,
There's a kirkyaird o connached ferlies. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 63:
"In yer subconscious, ye socht tae connach the machine that stoppit ye frae lovin Ines, tae kill her freen ower jealousy, tae kill yersel ooto grue at nae bein luved ony mair, an tae punish yer quine fur her betrayal. ... "Ags. 1895 Arbroath Guide (5 Oct.) 3/6:
There's a' my guid flour conached, ye see.em.Sc. 1999 James Robertson The Day O Judgement 9:
"Can I no pit masel aye frae ye?
Can daith no perish ye for guid?
Can burnin flame nor God's reid rage
No connach ye like wuid?"Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Sc. Poems (1925) 43:
They stegh an' connach sae the meat, Their teeth mak mair than tongue haste. [This is prob. not native Edb. dial., but a reflection of Fergusson's Abd. parentage.]

†(3) “To trample on” (Abd. 1825 Jam.²).

(4) To nurse with excessive fuss (Bnff.², Abd.⁹ 1937). Vbl.n. connachan.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 30:
Sic a connachan's she macks wee hir bairn.

2. n.

(1) A botch (Bnff.², Abd.² 1937).Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 30:
That wark's a mere connach.

(2) An unskilful worker, a bungler (Abd.⁹ 1937).Bnff.² 1942:
The new loon that I've fee't is nithing bit a connach; a'thing that he diz is vrang.