Claptrap

//ˈklæpˌtɹæp// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Empty verbiage or nonsense. countable, uncountable

    "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."

  2. 2
    pompous or pretentious talk or writing wordnet
  3. 3
    A device for producing a clapping sound in theaters. countable, historical, uncountable
  4. 4
    A device or trick to gain applause; a humbug. countable, uncountable

    "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.""

Etymology

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

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