clapped out
adj1
Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, Slang Exhausted, worn out.
- Accusations of letting a service run down deliberately will always be made if, to quote one local case, a mostly empty mid-day train continues to run, while in the same service an early morning train is discontinued, causing: (a) six men to lose their jobs; (b) four men to go on to permanent night shift by the grace of their employer; and (c) four others to buy a clapped-out van between them to get to work.1964 November, E. N. Bellass, “Some questions for Mr. Mugliston”, in Modern Railways, pages 329–330:
- For now, the intensive Valleys services remain in the hands of increasingly clapped-out Class 150/2s.2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 49:
- Related terms
- clap out