claptrap

claptrap
n
1. bombast, rodomontade, rant, inflation, fustian, cant, jargon, empty words, hogwash; ostentation, sensationalism, frippery, gaudiness, tawdriness, glitter, gloss; pretentiousness, pretension, pretense, false show; bluster, fanfaronade, swaggering, peacockism, peacockery; cliché, banality, platitude, commonplace; sophism, sophistry, casuistry, Jesuitism, speciousness, elenchus; untruth, hypocrisy, insincerity; humbug, bunkum, Sl. bunk; flattery, false praise, cajolery, blarney, palaver; nonsense, trumpery, twaddle, Inf. bosh, babble, prate, moonshine, gibberish, prattle, blather, drivel, Sl. bilge, rigmarole, tripe.
2. sham, fraud, deception, imposture, fabrication, stage effect, quackery, charlatanry; trick, hoax, mockery; pose, Inf. front, affectation, airs, attitude, veneer, display, parade

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  • Claptrap — Clap trap (kl[a^]p tr[a^]p ), n. 1. A contrivance for clapping in theaters. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. A trick or device to gain applause, especially pretentious but empty rhetoric; humbug. [1913 Webster +PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Claptrap — Clap trap , a. Contrived for the purpose of making a show, or gaining applause; deceptive; unreal. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • claptrap — c.1730, trick to catch applause, a stage term; from CLAP (Cf. clap) (v.) + TRAP (Cf. trap) (n.). Extended sense of cheap, showy language is from 1819; hence nonsense, rubbish …   Etymology dictionary

  • claptrap — ► NOUN ▪ nonsense. ORIGIN originally denoting something designed to elicit applause …   English terms dictionary

  • claptrap — [klap′trap΄] n. [ CLAP1 + TRAP1] showy, insincere, empty talk or writing, intended only to get applause or notice …   English World dictionary

  • claptrap — n. nonsense; something worthless. D This is enough claptrap. I’m leaving. □ I know claptrap when I see it, and your play was claptrap …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • claptrap — I. noun Etymology: 2clap; from its attempt to win applause Date: 1799 pretentious nonsense ; trash II. adjective Date: 1815 characterized by or suggestive of claptrap; especially of a cheap showy nature < claptrap sentiment > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • claptrap — clap|trap [ˈklæptræp] n [U] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: claptrap something intended to make the people watching a show clap (18 19 centuries)] informal talk that is stupid or shows a lack of knowledge ▪ romantic claptrap …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • claptrap — [[t]klæ̱ptræp[/t]] N UNCOUNT (disapproval) If you describe something that someone says as claptrap, you mean that it is stupid or foolish although it may sound important. [INFORMAL] This is the claptrap that politicians have peddled many times… …   English dictionary

  • claptrap — /klap trap /, n. 1. pretentious but insincere or empty language: His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap. 2. any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public. [1720 30; CLAP1 + TRAP1] Syn. 1 …   Universalium

  • claptrap — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. nonsense (See unmeaningness). II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. empty talk, drivel, bombast, bunk; see nonsense 1 . III (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) n. [KLAP TRAP] pretentious writing or talk… …   English dictionary for students

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