claptrap
Speech parts
1. claptrap - Noun
2. claptrap - Adjective
Meaning
A contrivance for clapping in theaters.
A trick or device to gain applause; humbug.
Contrived for the purpose of making a show, or gaining applause; deceptive; unreal.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
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Examples
I know that the arts are important. I'm not denying that, but I can't associate myself with all the claptrap that goes on around it.
If those who support aggressive war had seen a fraction of what I've seen, if they'd watched children fry to death from Napalm and bleed to death from a cluster bomb, they might not utter the claptrap they do.
All that he said about the clean state and efficiency was an affront to Liberalism & was pure claptrap – Efficiency as a watchword! Who is against it? This is all a mere réchauffé of Mr. Sydney Webb who is evidently the chief instructor of the whole faction.
I, for one, find writing excruciating. Some mornings, as I'm on my way to my desk, my hands actually tremble with fear. The fear, of course, is that I'll sit down at the desk and discover that what I've written is claptrap. Fear inevitably leads to procrastination.
"The trend is absolutely clear – the arguments in favour of coal are just sheer ideological claptrap," he said.
Beale called it "claptrap," arguing, "Constitutional discussions of the rights of the negro, the status of Southern states, the legal position of ex-rebels, and the powers of Congress and the president determined nothing.