claptrap

Alternative forms

• clap trap
• clap-trap

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈklæp.tɹæp/

Noun

claptrap (countable and uncountable, plural claptraps)

1. empty verbiage or nonsense [from early 19th c.]
2. (historical) A device for producing a clapping sound in theaters.
3. a trick or device to gain applause; humbug
   • 1868, Anthony Trollope, He Knew He Was Right XI

     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.’