Meaning that a person has been wicked enough to injure the character of another that he might supplant him in influence or position.
He gaed for oo' but came hame shorn.
"A camel going to seek horns lost his ears."—Arabic.
He gangs awa in an ill time that ne'er comes back again.
He gangs far aboot seeking the nearest.
He gangs frae the jilt to the gellock.
To "jilt," to throw or dash water on a person; "gellock" (gavelock), an iron lever or crowbar. Meaning, perhaps, that a man's temper is such that he passes from the extreme of playfulness to that of passion very quickly.
He gangs lang barefoot that waits for dead men's shune.
He gaes nae whitings without banes.
Or, if he confers an obligation, it is sure to have some condition attached to it.