blah vs claptrap

blah

noun
  • Nonsense; drivel; idle, meaningless talk. 

  • (in plural, the blahs) A general or ambiguous feeling of discomfort, dissatisfaction, uneasiness, boredom, mild depression, etc. 

adj
  • Low in spirit or health; down. 

  • Dull; uninteresting; insipid. 

verb
  • To utter idle, meaningless talk. 

intj
  • An expression of mild frustration. 

  • Representing the sound of vomiting. 

  • Imitative of idle, meaningless talk; used sometimes in a slightly derogatory manner to mock or downplay another's words, or to show disinterest in a diatribe, rant, instructions, unsolicited advice, parenting, etc. Also used when recalling and retelling another's words, as a substitute for the portions of the speech deemed irrelevant. 

claptrap

noun
  • Empty verbiage or nonsense. 

  • A device or trick to gain applause; a humbug. 

  • A device for producing a clapping sound in theaters. 

How often have the words blah and claptrap occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )