In Scots Dialect, fidgin’ comes from fidge, meaning to move about restlessly or nervously, much like “fidgeting” in standard English. It can describe physical unease, but it may also convey animated excitement or delighted agitation. When paired with fain (“glad” or “willing”), as in “fidgin’ fain,” the phrase means exceedingly pleased, eager, or joyfully excited.

Dialect: Scots, the language variety used widely in Robert Burns’s poetry. Related standard English word: fidgeting, meaning making small restless movements. Fain is an older Scots and English word meaning “glad,” “pleased,” or “willing.” Do not read fidgin’ here as merely nervous or uncomfortable; Burns’s phrase “fidgin’ fain” gives it a positive sense of lively, eager happiness.