Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Old time performers would, whenever they felt the need for an ego boost without actually relying on doing anything worthwhile, would pull out a bit of shtick. It might be waving the flag; it might be some cloyingly sentimental song about their old mother; etc. What all of these had in common were that they were guaranteed to gain (or "trap") applause (or "Claps"). Hence such a cheap stunt came to be called "Claptrap". I don't know why I thought of this.
Happy Birthday, Solipsist!
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting bit of trivia: Old time performers would, whenever they felt the need for an ego boost without actually relying on doing anything worthwhile, would pull out a bit of shtick. It might be waving the flag; it might be some cloyingly sentimental song about their old mother; etc. What all of these had in common were that they were guaranteed to gain (or "trap") applause (or "Claps"). Hence such a cheap stunt came to be called "Claptrap". I don't know why I thought of this.
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