Posted by:
ike42
(
)
Date: April 30, 2012 12:03PM
I'm sure there are plenty of cases where Joseph misused words while attempting to impress, but I think this is not one of them. The second definition listed at
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anxious is the intended meaning:
2. earnestly desirous; eager (usually followed by an infinitive or for ): anxious to please; anxious for our happiness.
Usage note
The earliest sense of anxious (in the 17th century) was “troubled” or “worried”: We are still anxious for the safety of our dear sons in battle. Its meaning “earnestly desirous, eager” arose in the mid-18th century: We are anxious to see our new grandson. Some insist that anxious must always convey a sense of distress or worry and object to its use in the sense of “eager,” but such use is fully standard.