clappers

«clappers» in Mova's school dictionary: The metal tongue or ball hanging inside a bell that hits… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (clappers, plural; a clapper, singular)

meaning for a pupil

1) The metal tongue or ball hanging inside a bell that hits it to make it ring (a clapper). tree →

2) (UK, informal) In «like the clappers»: very fast or very hard («run like the clappers»). tree →

3) A device that makes a clapping noise, for example to scare birds, or the clapperboard used when filming. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand speech, «go like the clappers» means go extremely fast. In music and church life the clapper is what makes a bell ring. It tells the reader about bells or great speed.

examples

• We ran like the clappers to catch the bus. tree →
• The bell's clapper swung and struck the side. tree →
• The bell-ringers checked the clappers before Sunday service. tree →
• Grandad drove like the clappers to get us to the hospital in time. tree →
• The rain came down like the clappers. tree →
• A clapper scared the birds off the field. tree →

note

Singular «clapper», plural «clappers»; the idiom always uses the plural: «like the clappers». It is informal British-style English and is not common in the USA. Not the same as «clapping» (hitting your hands together).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «clappers» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.