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claptrap

 [klap-trap]   Origin

clap·trap

   [klap-trap]
noun
1.
pretentious but insincere or empty language: His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap.
2.
any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public.
Origin:
1720–30; clap1 + trap1

Synonyms
1. sham, humbug, hokum, nonsense, bunk.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Claptrap is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
claptrap (ˈklæpˌtræp)
 
—n
1.  contrived but foolish talk
2.  insincere and pretentious talk: politicians' claptrap
 
[C18 (in the sense: something contrived to elicit applause): from clap1 + trap1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

claptrap
c.1730, "trick to 'catch' applause," a stage term; from clap (v.) + trap (n.). Extended sense of "cheap, showy language" is from 1819; hence "nonsense, rubbish."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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