happy-clappy

adj. excessively or falsely cheerful or optimistic. Subjects: English

Editorial Note: This term is frequently applied to evangelical religions and their practitioners.

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Citations: 1990 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois) (Dec. 14) “Olive Garden no delight” p. C1: And they have those happy-clappy waiters and waitresses who seem to love to sing birthday cheer, but appear to know next to nothing about the menu. 1991 Independent (London, United Kingdom) (Mar. 20) “Profile of the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury” p. 16: Equally, he will need to go out of his way to reassure people that he is not trying to create a thoroughly evangelical Church where everyone worships in a “happy-clappy” way. 1992 Stephen Bayley International Herald Tribune (Apr. 9) “In This Sterile Diorama, Life Is but a Theme”: You don’t have to be a happy-clappy Silicon Valley hippie to see that computer-driven virtual reality is set to upstage Euro Disney before the millennium. 1993 Andrew Marr Independent (London, United Kingdom) (Dec. 3) “Fear Holds The Key To The Future Of NATO”: Military alliances are as keen as anyone to cloak themselves in happy-clappy idealism. 1997 Financial Times (United Kingdom) (Feb. 6) “Unhappy Grumpy” p. 17: There again, his departure may not have been quite so abrupt as it at first appears. Of the eight top executives—nine if you include Mickey Mouse—photographed in the company’s happy-clappy annual report, he’s the only one who can’t raise a smile. 2004 Marcus Strom Green Left Weekly (New South Wales, Australia) (Aug. 11) “Red salute, Josh Heuchan” no. 593,: A sometimes member of the Socialist Alliance in Australia, Josh tired easily of the far left’s myopia. The continual “happy clappy” attitude of the left’s revivalism and its dead-end sect perspectives irked him. 2007 Linda Morris Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (May 19) “He’s on a musical mission for God”: The pejorative term happy clappys doesn’t apply to the music ministry of the son of Brian Houston, the flamboyant senior pastor of the Hillsong empire.

Posted 22 May 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend