Definition of CLAPTRAP

claptrap

Plural: claptraps

Noun

  • Absurd or pretentious nonsense, often used to gain applause.
  • pompous or pretentious talk or writing
  • Empty verbiage or nonsense.
  • A device for producing a clapping sound in theaters.
  • A device or trick to gain applause; a humbug.

Examples

  • His explanation for playing ’XLY’ was pure CLAPTRAP, but the word was valid.

Origin / Etymology

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

Synonyms

blah, bombast, fustian, rant, BS, Bandini, Greek, Irish bull, absurdity, all my eye, all my eye and Betty Martin, applesauce, bafflegab, balderdash, balls, baloney, banana oil, baragouin, batcrap, batshit, bilgewater, blather, blatherskite, bobbins, bollocks, bosh, bull, bull feathers, bullcrap, bulldust, bullshit, bullspeak, bunk, bunkum, bushwah, clamjamfrey, claptrap, cobblers, codswallop, crap, crock, crock of shit, double Dutch, double talk, doublespeak, drivel, eyewash, fiddle-faddle, flapdoodle, flim-flam, flizz, flummery, folderol, foolishness, footle, framis, fuckery, fuckry, fudge, galimatias, garbage, garble, gibber, gibberish, gobbledygook, gossip, guff, gup, hoax, hocus-pocus, hogwash, hokum, hooey, horse hockey, horse piss, horse puckey, horsefeathers, horseshit, hot air, humbug, jabber, jargon, jibber-jabber, jimjam, jive, junk, lallation, macaroni, malarkey, manure, meaninglessness, moonshine, mumbo jumbo, nertz, nonsense, palaver, pie in the sky, piffle, pigswill, poppycock, prattle, put-on, rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb, rigmarole, rot, rubbish, ruse, santorum, shit, shite, skimble-skamble, squit, stuff, stuff and nonsense, tommy-rot, tosh, trash, tripe, tush, twaddle, waffle, wass, whiff-whaff, word salad

Scrabble Score: 14

claptrap: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
claptrap: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
claptrap: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

claptrap: valid Words With Friends Word