Yes I do know I'm guilty of it. I'm sorry it's just the way I am. 
Those of you who have read my earlier posts know just how much I have come to hate Don Marquis for making me think. For those of you new to my blog here's a quick link:
http://foolsreunited.blog.co.uk/2007/07/16/well_that_s_certainly_got_me_thinking~2645424
Right where was I? Erm .... let me think .... see that man's done it again!
Ah yes! "clap-trap"! No bloggers, I'm not being rude but this morning this word/phrase cropped up and I needed to know where it originated.
This is what I discovered on t'internet!
[Q] “Do you have any idea where the word claptrap comes from? I associate it with talking rubbish but I’ve no idea what a clap is — other than the obvious infectious disease — and why you would build a trap for one.”
[A] It’s certainly not that sort of clap.Your claptrap is indeed a trap to catch a clap, but it’s the sort of clap you make by putting your hands together in appreciation.
Its first appearance in print is in Nathan Bailey’s dictionary of 1721 and his definition pretty much tells the whole story: "A Clap Trap, a name given to the rant and rhymes that dramatic poets use" Thereby pleasing the actors by encouraging the audience to applaud.
The word developed from a figurative theatrical device to encourage applause into a more general term for showy or insincere platitudes directed at the lowest common denominator of one’s audience. From there it was only a short step to the sense of talking nonsense or rubbish, though the older ideas are often still present.
Incidentally, in the middle of the nineteenth century, 150 years after the word had first been recorded, some unsung backstage hero invented a mechanical device, a sort of clapper, that made a noise like that of applause (perhaps to encourage the real thing, though we are not told). Presumably it was similar to a football rattle. This also was called a claptrap. It has led some people into the mistake of suggesting that this device was the source of the word.
So there you have it - you didn't think my blog was going to be educatonal as well did you? 
NEITHER DID I!
On a more "lighter" note here is another, more recent definition:
"Clap-trap" - Derogatory name for a sexually promiscuous woman – (Dictionary of Sexual Terms)
Finally a quote courtesy of my blogfriend boredrich:
We're all fools but the real fool is the one who wants to be sane!
