Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An officious meddler whose interference compromises the success of an undertaking.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who by officious interference mars or defeats a design or plot; one who blunderingly hinders the success of any undertaking or project.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who, by his officious interference, mars or frustrates a design or plot.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Marplot, a character in The Busy Body, a play by Susannah Centlivre (1669–1723).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From mar +‎ plot. In earliest use as a character name in The Busy Body, by Susanna Centlivre.

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Examples

  • The marplot was the mad-dog Spanish Admiral, whom they encountered on the second day out, when halfway across the Gulf of Gonaves.

    Captain Blood Rafael Sabatini 1912

  • “The fiend receive George of Douglas and thee too, thou born madcap and sworn marplot!” said the other; “we shall be discovered, and then death is the word.”

    The Abbot 2008

  • Political leaders attempt to hang out our best military leaders with all the self depreciating officious interference of a marplot.

    Watching the Iraq Hearings With Petraeus and Crocker - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • Political leaders attempt to hang out our best military leaders with all the self depreciating officious interference of a marplot.

    Watching the Iraq Hearings With Petraeus and Crocker - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • “Thou shalt not enjoy this youth but in the desert, where there is neither spy nor marplot to trouble thee.”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • They addressed themselves to the members of the senate in private, here a man and there a man, and denounced him as the marplot of the constitution.

    Hellenica 2007

  • Every one of the villagers has committed his several blunder; his genius was good, his stars consenting, but he was a marplot.

    Uncollected Prose 2006

  • To which Mrs Milvey replied, in her pleasantly emphatic way, ‘Oh YES, for she IS such a marplot, Frank, and DOES worry so!’

    Our Mutual Friend 2004

  • West of the river were several actors—Lee, Longstreet, D. H. Hill—but Fate was to have it that the most conspicuous, half hero, half marplot, was to be the youngest and the most recently risen of the major generals—A. P. Hill.

    LEE’S LIEUTENANTS DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN 2001

  • West of the river were several actors—Lee, Longstreet, D. H. Hill—but Fate was to have it that the most conspicuous, half hero, half marplot, was to be the youngest and the most recently risen of the major generals—A. P. Hill.

    LEE’S LIEUTENANTS DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN 2001

Comments

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  • After Marplot, a character in The Busybody (1709), a play by Susanna Centlivre.

    January 9, 2008

  • A person who mars or defeats a plot, design, or project by meddling.

    January 9, 2008

  • "A restless movement from Laurie suggested that his chair was not easy, or that he did not like the plan, and made the old man add hastily, "I don't mean to be a marplot or a burden. I go because I think you'd feel happier than if I was left behind. I don't intend to gad about with you, but leave you free to go where you like, while I amuse myself in my own way."

    Louisa M. Alcott, Little Women, 1869

    August 9, 2009

  • Intentions are good, outcomes are not,

    We end twixt a rock and a hard spot.

    While bossy and silly

    She means well, this Milly,

    But Millicent's merely a marplot.

    January 8, 2017