(archaic) An additional adverse event that occurs unexpectedly after an earlier one was thought to be over and done with.
(archaic) An unfavourable turn of events following a favourable situation; an eventuality for which one ought to be prepared.
1770, Thomas Bridges, A Burlesque Translation of Homer, London: S. Hooper, 3rd ed., Volume I, p. 7,
May you all live to see Troy out,
And when you’ve storm’d the Trojan gaps,
May you escape all after-claps.
The consequence (often, but not always, adverse) of an action or event.
1753, uncredited translator, The School of Man, London: Lockyer Davis, 2nd ed., pp. 102-103,
[…] he loves Pleasure; but then, without any Afterclap; fain would he be gathering Roses, but he’s afraid of the Prickles.
1891, Grover Cleveland, letter to William Freeman Vilas in Allan Nevins (ed.), Letters of Grover Cleveland, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1933, p. 244,
My notion is that the Senatorial result in this State is the best that could have been attained. I am not sure about the after-clap, but I think quieter politics in this State will result.
1926, Alice Dunbar Nelson, diary entry, in Gloria T. Hull (ed.), Give Us Each Day: The Diary of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, New York: Norton, 1984, p. 196,
Seems like no matter where I go, if I have a pleasant time, there is always a nasty afterclap of bad checks following me.
A phenomenon occurring after a similar earlier one; a later manifestation of something.
1891, Elizabeth Gilbert Martin (translator), Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty by Arthur-Léon Imbert de Saint-Amand, New York: Scribner, 1891, Chapter 4, p. 32,
The drama of the Revolution is not French alone; it is European. It has its afterclap in every empire, in every kingdom, even to the most distant lands.
A sound that follows another, especially a loud noise, such as thunder.
A symptom of an illness, especially one that appears after the initial onset; an illness or symptom caused by exposure to a substance, an injury, etc.
(uncountable, medicine, obsolete) Urethral discharge as a symptom of gonorrhea.
1877, William Morgan, Contagious Diseases, London: The Homœopathic Publishing Company, Part 1, p. 35,
[…] the fourth stage of the complaint, known as a “gleet,” or afterclap.
(obsolete) A change or attempted change to an agreement after it has been entered into; an additional charge (especially one over and above the previously agreed-upon price).
1780, William Cowper, letter to William Unwin in William Hayley (ed.), The Life and Letters of William Cowper, London: J. Johnson, 1812, p. 293,
I shall charge you a halfpenny apiece for every copy I send you, the short as well as the long. This is a sort of afterclap you little expected, but I cannot possibly afford them at a cheaper rate.
1835, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, “The Horse Swap” in Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents, &c., Augusta, GA: S. R. Sentinel, p. 28,
“Now,” said Blossom, as he handed Peter the three dollars, “I’m a man, that when he makes a bad trade, makes the most of it until he can make a better. I’m for no rues and after-claps.”
“That’s just my way,” said Peter; “I never goes to law to mend my bargains.”
(humorous) A child born after the one that was intended to be the last.
(slang, obsolete) A sweet food, drink, or tobacco product consumed at the end of a meal.
1936, Fulton Oursler (as Anthony Abbot), Murder of a Startled Lady, London: Collins, Chapter 7, p. 272,
[…] we went on in silence to partake of this never-to-be-forgotten luncheon […] and, as a fitting after-clap, a liqueur from Avignon,
noun
(South Africa, historical) A canvas curtain or tailboard at the rear of a covered wagon.
1905, Reginald Fenton, A Peculiar People in a Pleasant Land, Girard, KS: The Pretoria Publishing Company, Chapter 7, p. 98,
[…] he felt for his gun, and began fumbling at the fastenings of the afterclap.