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afterclap

/ˈæftərˌklæp/
IPA guide

Other forms: afterclaps

People may think a period of political unrest is over once the government has restored order — but then there may be an afterclap as a slew of protesters take to the streets demanding the police chief resign for not acting soon enough.

The clap in afterclap is like the one in thunderclap: a sudden, loud noise — but in this case, it's an unsettling development that comes after people have stopped expecting it. Imagine a thunderstorm full of loud, crashing peals of thunder. It dies down, the sky clears, and the storm is past. But then, all of a sudden, there's another loud clap of thunder! That's the image suggested by the word afterclap: a complex, chaotic situation seems to be over, and then it turns out that it's not.

Definitions of afterclap
  1. noun
    a further development that occurs unexpectedly once a situation is already thought to be resolved
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