Literally full of Claptraps

How fascinating in the wake of the stand-and-clap fest that was the SoTU to read this by Neil Gaimon, which commenter Sasha quoted at Legal Fiction:

I've long known that Claptrap means rubbish or nonsense. I was browsing in a dictionary the other day, as one does, and learned that it came from things one could say on a stage or to an audience that meant very little, but were automatic applause-getters. (Things that literally trap, well, clapping.) And it's also the name of a machine they had once in old theatres that simulated the sound of applause. It's such a good word: anything declaimed from the stage that gets people clapping without thinking. Claptrap. And just as applicable to any side in a political debate...

And now we know. By the way, if there are any congressional candidates reading this, I'll match Publius' contribution to any campaign running on a platform of not standing and clapping during the SoTU.