Claque

Quick meaning: Claque is a noun meaning (collective) A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.

Meaning

(collective) A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.

More Meanings

1. A group of fawning admirers.
2. A group of people who pre-arrange among themselves to express strong support for an idea, so as to give the false impression of a wider consensus.

Example Sentences

The claque isn't paid. In fact, claqueurs pay to get in. The inducement is that they can buy standing room for half price, without waiting in line.

The most popular singers have been obliged to give free tickets and even to donate cash, lest the claque retaliate by frantic applause at the wrong moment.

The political speeches began. What they lacked in originality, they made up in emphasis. It was clear that there was a claque of enthusiasts near the platform, whose Vivas! were caught be the microphones and magnified into a simulacrum of popular enthusiasm.

The most obvious gay connection to opera is the cult of the diva. Stauncher even than the fans of Garland of Striesand, the claques of Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland (among others) have been fanatical in their devotion. Going beyond the usual "appreciation stage" the fans glorify and deify their stars: Callas was "La Divina," Sutherland "La Stupenda."

Word Forms

• claques

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include claquer, clapter, clapping, applauding, clapalong, claptrap.

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