Chapter Civil War to Clavie of C by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Clapping the Prayer Books OR stamping the feet, in the Roman Catholic Church, on Good Friday, is designed to signify the abandonment of our Saviour by His disciples. This is done when twelve of the thirteen burning candles are put out. The noise comes from within the choir.

Claque; Claqueurs Applause by clapping the hands; persons paid for doing so. M. Sauton, in 1820, established in Paris an office to ensure the success of dramatic pieces. He was the first to organise the Parisian claque. The manager sends an order to his office for any number of claqueurs, sometimes for 500 or even more. The class is divided into commissaires, those who commit the pieces to memory and are noisy in pointing out its merits; rieurs, who laugh at the puns and jokes; pleureurs chiefly women, who are to hold their pocket-handkerchiefs to their eyes at the moving parts; chatouilleurs, who are to keep the audience in good humour; and bisseurs, who are to cry (bis) encore. The Romans had their Laudicoeni (q.v.).

Claras (Stock Exchange term) The Chatham, London, and Dover Railway Ordinary Stock (C L.R.S.)

Clare (St.) A religious order of women, the second that St. Francis instituted. It was founded in 1213, and took its name from its first abbess.

Clarenceux King-of-Arms One of the two provincial heralds, with jurisdiction over the southern provinces. The name was taken in honour of the Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III. The herald of the northern provinces is called Norroy King-of-Arms.
    Garter-King-of-Arms, also “Principal King-of-Arms,” has to attend on Knights of the Garter, and arrange whatever is required in connection with these knights. There is a Bath King-of-Arms, not a member of the college, to attend on Knights of the Bath.

Clarendon The Constitutions of Clarendon. Laws made by a general council of nobles and prelates, held at Clarendon, in Wiltshire, in 1164, to check the power of the Church, and restrain the prerogatives of ecclesiastics. These famous ordinances, sixteen in number, define the limits of the patronage and jurisdiction of the Pope in these realms.

Clarendon Type The black letters which head these articles are so called.

Claret The wine so called does not receive its name from its colour, but the colour so called receives its name from the wine. The word means clarified wine (vinum claretum) What we call hippocras was called claretum, made of wine and honey clarified.

Claret Blood. To broach one's claret. To give one a bloody nose; so called from the claret colour.

Claret Cup A drink made of claret, brandy, lemon, borage, sugar, ice, and carbonated water

Claret Jug (One's) One's nose. (See above, Claret )
   To tap one's claret jug To give one a bloody nose. “Tap” is meant for a pun- to broach and to knock.

Classic Races (The). The five chief horse-races in England, viz. the 2,000 and 1,000 guinea races for two-year-olds, run at Newmarket, the Derby for fillies and colts, the Oaks for fillies only, and the St. Leger.

Classics The best authors. The Romans were divided by Servius into six classes. Any citizen who belonged to the highest class was called classicus, all the rest were said to be infra clàssem. From this the best authors were termed classici aucto'rës (classic authors), i.e. authors of the best or first class. The high esteem in which Greek and Latin were held at the revival of letters obtained for these authors the name of classic, emphatically; and when other first-rate works are intended some distinctive name is added, as the English, French, Spanish, etc., classics.