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   clout

   /klaʊt/

   noun

   • 1. a heavy blow with the hand or a hard object: informal "a clout round the ear" Similar smackslapthumppunchblowhitknockbangcuffboxspankingspanktapclipinformal:whackwallopclobberingsock
   • 2. influence or power, especially in politics or business: informal "I knew she carried a lot of clout" Similar influencepowerpullweightswayleveragecontrolsaymasterydominancedominationadvantageauthorityprestigestandingstaturerankinformal:teethbeefmuscle
   • 3. a piece of cloth or article of clothing. archaic
   • 4. a target twelve times the usual size, placed flat on the ground with a flag marking its centre and used in long-distance shooting.
   • ▪ a long-distance shot that hits a clout.
   • 5. short for clout nail

   verb

   • 1. hit (someone or something) hard: informal "I clouted him round the head"
   • 2. mend with a patch: archaic "he helps the women clout their pans"

   Word Origin Old Englishclūt (in the sense ‘a patch or metal plate’); related to Dutch kluit ‘lump, clod’, also to cleat and clot. The shift of sense to ‘heavy blow’, which dates from late Middle English, is difficult to explain; possibly the change occurred first in the verb (from ‘put a patch on’ to ‘hit hard’).

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • C

     3

   • L

     1

   • O

     1

   • U

     1

   • T

     1

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