The Only Use of
officious
in
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
- "Why, bless your heart alive, my dear, how late you are!" said Mrs. Cratchit, kissing her a dozen times, and taking off her shawl and bonnet for her with officious zeal.†
p. 69.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(officious) too eager to tell others what to do -- often regarding unimportant matters
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much less commonly, officious can mean informal or unofficial as in "officious conversation between assistants." Even less commonly, it can be used in classic literature to refer to a desire to help others.