clapped out

English

Alternative forms

• clapped-out

Pronunciation

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Adjective

clapped out (comparative more clapped out, superlative most clapped out)

1. (slang, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) Exhausted, worn out.
   • 1964 November, E. N. Bellass, “Some questions for Mr. Mugliston”, in Modern Railways, pages 329–330:

     Accusations of letting a service run down deliberately will always be made if, to quote one local case, a mostly empty mid-day train continues to run, while in the same service an early morning train is discontinued, causing: (a) six men to lose their jobs; (b) four men to go on to permanent night shift by the grace of their employer; and (c) four others to buy a clapped-out van between them to get to work.

See also

• clap out