claptrap

Valid in Scrabble

Pronunciation

/ˈklæpˌtɹæp/(UK)

Definition of claptrap

3 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

(countable, uncountable)Empty verbiage or nonsense.

“Klein diagnoses impressively what hasn’t worked. No more claptrap about fracked gas as a bridge to renewables. Enough already of the international summit meetings that produce sirocco-quality hot air, and nonbinding agreements that bind us all to more emissions.”

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noun

(countable, uncountable)Empty verbiage or nonsense.

“Klein diagnoses impressively what hasn’t worked. No more claptrap about fracked gas as a bridge to renewables. Enough already of the international summit meetings that produce sirocco-quality hot air, and nonbinding agreements that bind us all to more emissions.”
(countable, historical, uncountable)A device for producing a clapping sound in theaters.
(countable, uncountable)A device or trick to gain applause; a humbug.

“There had been a suggestion that the child should be with her [while she answers the door], but the mother herself had rejected this. "It would be stagey," she had said, "and clap-trap. There is nothing I hate so much as that."”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Theater slang, c. 1730, from clap + trap, referring to theatrical techniques or gags used to incite applause.

68 playable · top: CALTRAP (11 pts)

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