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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CHAFF, v.¹ and n. A Sc. form of Eng. chafe. [tʃɑf]

1. v.

(1) To rub, wear (Bnff.², Abd.², Fif.¹⁰ 1939; Ork., Cai., Bnff., Edb., Fif., Ayr., Dmf., Uls. 2000s).Sc. 1715 in A. Fergusson Major Fraser's MS. (1889) II. 164:
Bathed in cold water; chaffed my throat with Hungary water.Mry. 1849 A. Blackhall Lays of the North 56:
Humble the parson's fare . . . And the cloth seemed chaff'd and bare.Dmf. 1778 in F. Miller Poets of Dmfsh. (1910) 175 Note:
[From Herd's MSS.] I enclose you an old ballad, which I got . . . from William Bell: it was in detached scraps of paper . . . some . . . were illegible, being chaff'd in his pocket.

(2) In Baking: to knead or work measured amounts of dough with the hands before baking or rolling flat, to mould into balls, = Eng. "hand up" (see 1927 quot.) (Ayr. 1975). Sc. 1927 J. Kirkland Bakers' ABC. 50:
In a technical sense chaffing is the Scottish equivalent of the English term moulding, but with a difference. The English baker obtains the shapes of dough he requires by a sort of rolling motion, but the Scottish baker accompanies each turn of the wrist with extra pressure of the hand or a striking operation. The term chaffing although probably originally used for biscuit work, is also applied to the manipulation of ordinary loaves.Lnk. 1887 A. Wardrop Mid-Cauther Fair 177:
Like half-chaffed batches of bad flour.

2. n. A worn part. Known to Bnff.² 1939.Bnff.(D) 1847 A. Cumming Tales of the North (1896) 62:
Ha! there it is, your ain auld rope . . . He's knoted ilka thrum and flaw, And tar'd and greased each chaff an' chaw.