marplot

English

Etymology

From mar (“to spoil, to ruin”) +‎ plot (“plan”). In earliest use as a character name in The Busie Body,^[1] by Susanna Centlivre, in 1709. Compare addle-plot.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːplɒt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɹplɑt/

Noun

marplot (plural marplots)

1. Synonym of spoilsport, one who ruins other's plans or enjoyment of something. [from 18th c.]
   • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter XI, in The Understanding Heart:

     “The old marplot has discovered the baby,” Monica whispered. “I suppose it cried and woke him up, and now he thinks he's witness to a miracle.”

   • 2006, Anne Birrell, “Myth as Sacred History”, in Chinese Myth and Culture‎^[2], Cambridge: McGuinness China Monographs, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 92:

     Several classical texts relate that the mighty god Kung Kung (Common Work) [translating 共工 (Gònggōng)] plays the mythic role of the marplot, that is, one who seeks to destroy the cosmos.⁴¹ Chapter Three of Huai-nan Tzu [translating 淮南子 (Huáinánzǐ)], for example, narrates how the rebellious Kung Kung fought with the sky god Chuan Hsü [translating 顓頊 / 颛顼] for world domination and in his titanic fury Kung Kung broke one of the supports that separated the sky from the earth.⁴²

   • 2012, Michael Burleigh, “Keeping the Flame Alive”, in Literary Review, section 402:

     Unthinking Anglo-Saxons regard him as a Gallic marplot, rather than the great twentieth-century statesman he was – certainly the greatest Frenchman since Napoleon.

Derived terms

• marplotry

Adjective

marplot (comparative more marplot, superlative most marplot)

1. (now rare) Ruining a plan, interfering, spoilsport. [from 18th c.]
   • 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. V, letter 83:

     Let us argue the point with this pert, unruly, marplot conscience of mine…

Anagrams

• Lamport