Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CANDY, n. Used in combs. which are not found in St.Eng.
Combs.: 1. candybob = 4; known to Mry.2 c.1873 and Abd. correspondents; “also sometimes applied to the candy itself” (Bnff.2 1938); 2. candy-broad sugar, candibrod, candybrod, †(1) “loaf or lump sugar” (Fif. 1825 Jam.2, candibrod); (2) “sugarcandy” (Abd.19, Ags.1, Fif.10 1938; ne.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B. Add., candybrod); 3. candy-glue, “treacle boiled to a consistency” (Abd. 1877 Jam.4); “candy made from treacle, etc., well boiled” (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.; Ags.17 1938); 4. candyman, a hawker, a ragman; “these men generally give a kind of toffee, called candy, in exchange for rags, etc.” (Uls. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gl. Ant. and Dwn.); known to Abd.2, Fif.10, Slg.3 (for Edb.), Lnk.3, Gsw.1, Kcb.9 1938; 5. candy-rock, “candy in blocks or stalks” (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.; Abd.22, Fif.10 1938).2. (1) Sc. 1736 Mrs. McLintock Mrs. McLintock's Receipts (1986) 4:
..., put in a lib. of Candy-broad Sugar, beat and searched.Sc. 1743 R. Maxwell Select Trans. Agric. 290:
Take a Quarter of an Ounce of Cinnamon . . .; infuse that in a Pint of Spirits, with three Ounces of Candy-broad Sugar. [Jam. says: “this term must have been imported, most probably with the article, from the Low Countries; as Belg. kandy is equivalent to E[ng]. candy (Fr. candir, to grow white after boiling, applied to sugar); and [Du.] brood, a loaf.”]4. m.Sc. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 55:
He'd hunt a' the hoose for a rag or a bane . . . To gi'e to the candyman — greedy wee Tam!Ayr. a.1893 J. M'Cartney in Anthology of Carrick (ed. Finlayson 1925) 266:
The Candyman did twice a day Treat this brave widow to her tay.
