The slang "clap-trap" is really a marvellous word in this connection,
expandable to something like "the trap of applause," i.e., the trap
of conversion and devotion to an eloquent dream-ideal. Though Charles Gould uses
the word to be dismissive, it subtly contributes to the sense of speech as a dangerous
force, and lends more weight to the code of silence he will adopt in the next
chapter.