happy-clappy
Britishadjective
noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At first glance, the Jesus Army seemed a "happy-clappy" church set in the Northamptonshire countryside, with two- or three thousand members, a gaudy military-style uniform, and a fleet of rainbow-coloured battle buses.
From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025
And when he wasn’t staging happy-clappy revues, he was playing tremulous, reverent acoustic music, as on the Seven Swans album, whose vulnerabilities still felt studied and removed.
From Slate • Sep. 25, 2020
But I too have to confess my nonplussedness: Of all the strains of 1960s folk revivalism, the last I’d have figured anyone missed was the happy-clappy collegiate spirit of the New Christy Minstrels.
From Slate • Sep. 12, 2013
I'm not imagining some sort of happy-clappy pacifist fantasy land here; full-bloodied criticism, satire and argument are vital.
From The Guardian • Jul. 29, 2013
I used to loathe its happy-clappy gaucheness, but now I quite like it, despite knowing that there’s nothing gauche about its indomitable owner.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
