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The Actor and the Clap-Trap

A stagehand's pun on an actor's mishap through a loose trap door — a bit of vaudeville-era wordplay preserved from a filler column.

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Burlington Weekly Free Press · February 18, 1876 · Page 1

1 min read

An actor fell through a loose trap as he was leaving the stage. Emerging instantly afterwards he was met with a hearty laugh and the remark of a wag, "I am sorry to see you descend to such clap-trap manoeuvres as that." "Yes," was the quick reply, "but you'll admit that I never undertake anything without going through it."

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