a. Chiefly Sc. [UN-1 7. Cf. WANCHANCY a.]
1. Ill-omened, ill-fated, unfortunate.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, II. iv. (S.T.S.), I. 142. Sen his hous was vnchancy, & his son dede. Ibid. (1536), Cron. Scot. (1821), II. 468. The lordis thocht that Johne was ane unchancy name to be ane king.
1589. Warner, Alb. Eng., VI. xxxii. 141. Lastly slaine By Edward, whilst he did vphold vnchancie Henries Raigne.
1768. Ross, Helenore, II. 98. I … monie a weary foot synsyne hae gane, Born i’ the yerd wi’ that unchancy coat.
1863. N. & Q., 3rd Ser. IV. 264. Another of this difficult lady’s unchancy wooers was a Scottish laird.
1893. Stevenson, Catriona, xiii. The devil any other sight or sound in that unchancy place.
b. Inconvenient, ill-timed.
1860. Trollope, Framley P., xxix. Why had his Grace come at so unchancy a moment?
2. Dangerous; not safe to meddle with.
1786. Burns, To J. Kennedy, i. Down the gate, in faith, they’re worse, And mair unchancy.
1818. Scott, Rob Roy, xxiii. We gang-there-out Hieland bodies are an unchancy generation when you speak to us o’ bondage.
1833. M. Scott, Tom Cringle, xii. A stalwart unchancy customer, who will not be gainsaid or contradicted.
1874. Wood, Nat. Hist., 281. The Brown Owl,… when roused to anger or urged by despair, is a remarkably unchancy antagonist.
