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"That was a sarcastic clap. The space between the claps means sarcasm."
Wanda Dollard, Corner Gas

The heroes have been engaging in heroism, battling countless Evil Minions and/or giving a Rousing Speech.

Cue the slow, rhythmic, sarcastic clapping from the Big Bad or a less idealistic hero. He is not impressed (sneering "Bra-vo" is optional). Extra credit for starting to clap while slouched in a dark corner, then sauntering, still clapping, into the light. Can also be done by villains or heroic characters who are not part of the core hero group (by virtue of being rugged and edgy loners), particularly Sixth Rangers.

This is normally used to mock the hero(es). Either because their actions so far are insufficient to stop the bad guy, have failed (often spectacularly) and only advanced the villain's agenda or simply made things worse.

This clapping may be the remainder of an outburst of applause from genuine supporters.

The golf clap is sometimes substituted by the Sissy Villain.

Not to be confused with the Slow Clap. Compare Sarcasm Mode, of which this is often a non-verbal form.


Examples:

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    Advertising 
  • The red M&M guy does one when Optimus Prime flings a trailer full of strawberry peanut butter M&Ms into the distance.

    Anime and Manga 
  • Air: Minagi did this after Yukito showed off his puppeteering skills.
  • Bleach: Szayel does this to Renji during their battle, saying its quite an accomplishment that Rukia and an Espada killed each othernote  while doing battle. Renji, of course, is horrified after hearing the news.
    • He also does this to Ishida when the latter asks him if he's an Espada.
      • In the anime, Ichigo did this to Ishida after catching on to his tailing him from school from back in the latter's introduction arc. Ishida, who could sense his tail's presence from the get-go, didn't give a damn.
    • Kisuke Urahara (Mr. Hat-and-Clogs)'s slow clap, which is sometimes done in sarcasm.
  • Code Geass: Mao is fond of this.
  • Durarara!!: In a flashback episode, Izaya does this to Shizuo the first time they meet, right after Shizuo's laid waste to an entire soccer field full of punks. Obviously, Shizuo is not impressed.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Greed does this, both before and after he shares a body with Ling Yao.
  • Hellsing: A pitch video for the (canceled) second season had Alucard shooting everything up, then the next Big Bad clapping slowly. The OVA, which rebooted the series, features him.
    • In the manga, the Major has a tendency to applaud his enemies when they seem to be doing well (although knowing him, it could be that he is genuinely impressed).
  • In My Hero Academia, Bakugo replies to Midoriya refusing to come back to U.A. with his clasmates, with this kind of clapping, and the equally sarcastic, "Oh yeah! Great speech! Just what we wanted from the famous One For All successor!"
  • Nagi in episode 16 of My-HiME, foreshadowing The Reveal immediately afterward.
  • Naruto: In the anime, Jirōbō gave one after the Sasuke Retrieval team broke through his Earth Dome Prison, praising his enemies' resourcefulness despite being "scumbags". Kiba and Naruto were not amused.
  • In Negima!?, Eva does this in response to Negi casting a spell to see spirits, but he doesn't realize she's being sarcastic.
  • Romeo × Juliet: Romeo gets one in episode 14 after an earnest speech to his new, cynical charges at a mine.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Pegasus does it to Kaiba after Kaiba reaches his brother in the dungeon of Pegasus' castle.

    Comic Books 
  • Exemplified and mocked in Gold Digger where the villain Fauntleroy engages in this (complete with optional "Bra-vo.") and Brianna responds with "Durrr...look at me mom! I just figured out how to clap sarcastically! Durr!"
  • Freddie Femur takes it to the next level in one of the "High School" issues of Strangers in Paradise upon hearing Katchoo's poem, This Mask I Wear.

    Comic Strips 
  • In one Calvin and Hobbes strip, Calvin makes a theatrical production out of choking down a small bite of his dinner, declaring afterwards that it nearly killed him. Cue sarcastic clapping and calls for an encore from both of his parents.

    Fan Works 
  • Jewel of Darkness: During the confrontation in Midnight's lair at the climax of the Jump City Arc, she does this after Cyborg gives her a Kirk Summation, saying that it was very moving, and that she'll post it in memorium on the Internet for him. Then Slade does it from the shadows after the Titans beat Midnight, putting her example to shame.
  • Opheliac: Azula does this to Aang, complete with mocking dialogue, after Ozai escapes prison and begins to gather supporters.
  • This Bites!: Mr. 3's entrance in Chapter 19, after Cross' "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Tashigi.
  • The New Adventures of Invader Zim: Norlock does this to "congratulate" Dib, Steve, and Viera after saving them from Tak during the Epic Fail of their first mission as a team.
  • Let the Galaxy Burn: When Rhaegar orders Visenya to go to the North and bring her twin sister Baela back, she replies by clapping very slowly.
  • In Neither a Bird nor a Plane, it's Deku!, Lexi Luthor engages in some once Izuku finally pieces her identity together from all the hints she dropped him.
    Lexi: [slowly clapping] And the last horse crosses the finish line.
  • In The Last Son, Emma Frost does this when she first encounters Superman, after he easily makes short work of her students and Shinobi Shaw, while saying "Very impressive".
  • Shadows over Meridian:
    • After their team first evades the Frostbiter for a while, Amelia objects to Vera's idea to run into the rocky maze and demands they turn back now. Vera sarcastically tells Amelia how returning to the apex predator's territory where it has a better chance of catching them is not a good idea, which she finishes by clapping slowly.
    • During Chapter 30, when Vera and her captured team end up arguing about if Elyon is a coward or simply out of her depth in the face of the Shadowkhan threat, Jade interjects by clapping and commenting that she's finally hearing Vera say something intelligent.

    Film — Animated 
  • In Beowulf (2007), Unferth does this because he's drunk and unimpressed by Beowulf's boasting and doesn't know any better. Beowulf finds it difficult to argue with a drunk.
  • The Lion King 1 ½: While giving Timon the low-down on the basics of sentry duty, Uncle Max goes into a rant about the dangers that surround them. Cue Timon resorting to this trope, only for Max to stop him.
    Timon: [clapping slowly] Bravo, Uncle Max! Way to sell it to the cheap seats.
    Uncle Max: [grabs Timon's hands] Applaud now, sonny boy, but try clapping when you don't have any hands.
  • In The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, Plankton does it to SpongeBob and Patrick when they return with King Neptune's crown.

    Film — Live-Action 
  • The Golden Child. The Dream Sequence has a live Studio Audience and an APPLAUSE sign that enables the Big Bad (who is Talking in Your Dreams) to do this trope.
  • Raiden in Mortal Kombat: The Movie. He was a good guy, but thought the good guy heroics were sadly lacking compared to the threat they faced.
  • Two Distant Strangers: How The Reveal happens. Carter is locked in a "Groundhog Day" Loop where he keeps getting into a confrontation with Officer Merk of the NYPD, which always ends with Carter getting killed. Finally Carter simply asks the cop to take him home. Officer Merk drops Carter off, they shake hands, and part as friends...until Officer Merk raises his hands over his head and starts slowly, sarcastically clapping. It turns out that Officer Merk knows exactly what's going on with the loop, and is "applauding" Carter for working so hard to survive. After he's done clapping, Officer Merk shoots Carter In the Back.
  • Theron does this after Gorgo's speech to the Spartan senate in 300.
  • In Mary Poppins, Mary offers up a sarcastic three-clap directed at Bert's.. imaginative.. "high-wire act".
  • In The Dark Knight, the Joker offers a slow clap to Gordon once he's appointed Commissioner. This was an ad-lib by Heath Ledger.
  • Bender in The Breakfast Club after Claire does her putting-on-lipstick-with-my-cleavage trick.
  • In Remember the Titans, Denzel Washington's character humiliates two of the white kids to put them in their place after they try a low-key coup of sorts just as the team is about to leave for football camp. He starts it off by announcing them to the crowd of parents as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and doing a lone Sarcastic Clap in the awkward silence that follows.
  • In Primal Fear, "Aaron" (Edward Norton) eerily does this at the end of the movie , when the attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere), and us, the audience, discover that Aaron has been faking his split personality/insanity for the entire film- he is actually sane. However, having just been found Not Guilty of murder, by reason of insanity, he cannot be tried twice for the same crime (double jeopardy). Therefore, even though Vail now knows the truth, he's powerless to do anything, as Ed Norton's character mocks him creepily from his cell, because he's just gotten away with murder.
  • In The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), Abbe Faria does this when Dantes realizes the reason Villefort burned the incriminating letter and imprisoned him right after acquitting him of the charges.
  • Blackheart does this in Ghost Rider (2007) after Johnny transforms. True to the trope, he does it while strolling down an alley into the light.
civilian shooting spree during the heist. Mr. Blonde claps along with him with a grin on his face.
  • After Wu Luan's play in Legend of the Black Scorpion, the emperor claps, signalling that the audience may applaud. But what happens immediately following shows that he got his nephew's challenge and is going to kill him.
  • In the 2010 version of The Karate Kid, Master Li orders Cheng to injure Dre's leg, and Cheng complies. After one of Mr. Han's cupping treatments, Dre decides to finish his match with Cheng, whereupon he is greeted with applause from Master Li.
  • Castor Troy in Face/Off does it to Dr. Walsh when he discovers his face is implanted to his Arch-Enemy Sean Archer which left him faceless.
    Castor Troy: Dr. Walsh! I was just enjoying some of your, uh, greatest hits here. Oh, and I hope you don't mind. I partook in some of your groovy painkillers. You know, this is fabulous work. This is... [sees the surgery videotape finish] Bravo! Bra-fucking-vo! [claps] Oh, god, this is excellent! Bravo!
    Dr. Malcolm Walsh: What do you want?
    Castor Troy: [claps his hands several times, causing Castor's bloody faceless face to appear reflected in Dr. Walsh's glasses] Take one goddamn guess.
  • Best Seller. The Villain with Good Publicity is giving a speech at a charity function. The hitman who used to work for him does this to get his attention so he'll come over and talk. Trouble Entendre follows.
  • In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Katniss is filming a "propo" to stir up support for the rebellion, but is doing a terrible job of it. Following her wooden, stilted delivery of "People of Panem, we fight! We dare to end this hunger for justice!", Haymitch enters...
    Haymitch: (slow clap) And that, my friends, is how a revolution dies.
  • In Captain America: Civil War, Clint sarcastically claps at the start of his "The Reason You Suck" Speech when Tony Stark shows up to speak to the imprisoned members of Team Cap.
  • Done by the Dragon in Ladyhawke as Philippe the Mouse gets cornered by the Bishop's posse.
  • In two Peter Ustinov film adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories, Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun, this is the killer's response to Poirot's exposition during the Summation Gathering - both times because they think he has no evidence.
  • In the sequel of The Mighty Ducks, Coach Stansson of Team Iceland gives Gordon Bombay a sarcastic little clap after whupping Team USA 12-1.
  • In Avengers: Infinity War, when Gamora "kills" Thanos on Knowhere, the Collector starts to clap and is sneering "magnificent". This is actually a vision, as the reality has been distorted by the Reality Stone.
  • Massacre at Central High: When the bullies find David trying to restore Rodney's car that the bullies destroyed, they clap and call him an artist.
  • Hilariously done perfectly in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where the Gryffindors envoke a few half-hearted claps with disgusted looks on their faces when Harry correctly concocts Draught of Living Dead and wins a vial of Felix Felicis. Even Hermione and Ron are dumbfounded by Harry's success.
  • Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle: After revealing herself as the culprit behind the case the Angels are investigating and the Angels mention all of the evidences that point to her, Madison Lee gives a mocking applause before shooting the Angels. Thankfully, the Angels survive her shot as they wear kevlars for protection.

    Literature 
  • In the Discworld book Monstrous Regiment, Sergeant Jackrum delivers at least one of these.
  • In one of the Doctor Who Expanded Universe novels, the Doctor attempts to rescue his companion from a pit in the ground by putting a ladder over the pit and... well, we don't know what he meant to do next; maybe he didn't either. The ladder falls in, as does the Doctor, and his companion claps sarcastically.
  • Erast Fandorin: Murder on the Leviathan: Fandorin does this after Renate spins her story about how she killed Gauche because he was trying to kill her.
    "Bravo!" said Fandorin with a mocking smile, still clapping his hands. "Bravo, Mme. Kleber. You are a great actress!"
  • Sharpe: Sharpe's Eagle, French cavalry applaud the South Essex's parade-ground perfect maneuvers in a situation where everyone with any sense note  knows the cavalry would not attack.
  • In Graham McNeill's Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarines novel Dead Sky, Black Sun, when Leonid tells Uriel that he will join him and Pasanius in their death oath, Vaanes claps, slowly.
  • In one short story, the main character sees her fairly unpopular best friend give a presentation that doesn't go well, resulting in the teacher criticizing the friend for not having prepared well enough. The popular crowd then gives the girl sarcastic applause, and after a moment, the main character joins in, thereby betraying her friend to join the "in" crowd.

    Live-Action TV 
  • A.N.T. Farm: Subverted in "some enchANTed evening", where Gibson's apparent mocking of Lexi cheer team was actually because his slow clap is a result of his earlier ladybug related trauma.
  • Blake's 7 has Avon doing this to Blake, with impeccable timing and a perfectly calculated, calm sneer. Have an animated .gif.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • In "Revelations", Xander knocks a tray of drinks out of the hand of a waitress, which cues a round of applause from everyone in the cafeteria (see Real Life).
      Xander: Thank you! We're here through Saturday! Enjoy the veal.
    • The same thing happens when Buffy drops a tray in "Earshot".
    • In "School Hard", a henchvamp is fighting Buffy and shouts for Spike to give him a hand. Spike doesn't move except to clap after Buffy stakes the vamp, thereby giving him a different kind of hand.
  • Community: Chang begins clapping, after saying "I agree". Of course, Jeff calls him out on this. After their conversation, Chang starts doing it again ("Seriously, do you have brain damage?").
    "You can't talk and then do a slow-clap."
    "You don't know that!"
    • Lampshaded in "The First Chang Destiny".
      Chang: Sar. Cas. Tic. Claps.
  • Corner Gas has an episode where Wanda and Davis both take piano lessons from Emma, though Davis is much better at it. After Davis played a song in The Ruby, everybody applauded, except for a jealous Wanda. Davis, being Davis, misses the point entirely:
    Davis: Thanks, Wanda.
    Wanda: That was a sarcastic clap. The space between the claps means sarcasm.
  • Doctor Who: In "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", the Doctor does this after Solomon kills the fetch-playing triceratops.
  • On Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, resident Jerkass Hank taunts the titular character, daring her to drop her prim and proper demeanor and tell him off. She finally does, giving him a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech. As she storms out, he applauds, declaring, "Not bad. I didn't think you had it in you."
  • In Friends we have this exchange:
    Joey: (to Ross and Chandler) I have to do something to repel this woman. Wait a minute, wait a minute - you guys repel women all the time!
    Ross: Hey, I've been married three times!
    cue Chandler's Sarcastic Clapping
  • Game of Thrones:
    • King Joffrey claps sarcastically after having a minstrel repeat a treasonous song he had sung. The rest of his court is unsure whether they should be following him in applause or not. Then Joffrey asks the minstrel if his fingers or his tongue are more important to him.
    • Done by Walder Frey after Robb apologises for breaking his marriage pact.
  • Interview with the Vampire (2022): In "...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self", Lestat de Lioncourt is extremely disgruntled throughout most of the Don Pasquale performance because of the tenor's subpar voice, but he "leapt to his feet in mock appreciation" and claps at the end of the show with a Psychotic Smirk. Lestat's evening has been ruined, so he decides to have fun by hunting the tenor for his dinner.
  • The final episode of Kamen Rider Zi-O sees Evolt do this after Woz delivers his speech for Sougo's transformation into Ohma Zi-O. Evolt and all of the other villains promptly find themselves on the end of a Curb-Stomp Battle as they learn that Ohma Zi-O more than lives up to the hype.
  • In The New Mike Hammer episode "Elegy For a Tramp", Hammer and the killer are fighting when the killer winds up hanging precariously from a hotel balcony. He begs for Hammer to give him a hand, to which he replies, "I'll do even better...I'll give you a standing ovation!", and claps...very...slowly...as the killer slowly loses his grip and falls to his death from the balcony, similar to the way he killed his first victim.
  • In the Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation four-part episode "Unchain My Heart", Vam-Mi and her minions Bing and Chi-Chu give insincere applause when Venus de Milo botches an incantation that was supposed to fire a magic blast at them.
  • Power Rangers:
  • Rome. Marc Antony intimidates a senator into passing some radical legislation. As the senator rambles on, Antony gives a slow clap as a way of saying, "Fine, that's enough, you can shut up now." The few remaining politicians in Rome aren't suicidal enough to oppose the legislation anyway, so they all dutifully applaud when the legislation is passed "unanimously".
  • The Professionals. In "Man Without A Past", Bodie thinks he's being followed, so does a handbrake turn, screeches to a halt in the middle of the street and jumps out brandishing a pistol. There's no sign of his pursuer, and a line of people waiting at a nearby bus stop proceed to clap and Wolf Whistle.
  • Saturday Night Live had a skit called "The Sarcastic Clapping Family of South Hampton". The skit parodied the frequent use of this trope in Soap Operas, where every declaration, from the dramatic to the mundane, was met with the sarcastic slow clap and a furious rebuke.
    Child: Mom, Dad, I got an A on my science test today!
    *Both parents roll their eyes, put down their magazines and start to clap*
  • Scrubs:
    • Dr. Cox claps slowly to an ex-drug addict and he's stunned that he clapped sarcastically, commenting how old it is.
      "Are you seriously doing the clichéd sarcastic slow clapping? Because that is so 1980s."
    • He did a sarcastic clap to J.D. at one point for walking away in the middle of an argument. Ted walked up and randomly joined in.
      Ted: What are we clapping for?
      Cox: His dad just died. [slows down and stops] Dammit.
  • In The Shield, Dutch managed to outwit a dangerous serial killer, prompting a round of genuine applause from the rest of the Barn. At almost exactly the same time, Shane Vendrell has managed to mess up a much easier case by having sex with the lead suspect, prompting a round of Sarcastic Clapping from Vic.
  • In Smallville, Clark's home has been trashed in a party, and he has to clean it up before his parents get home. Fortunately, he has super-speed. He manages to clean the entire house in seconds, and then sits triumphantly by a fruit basket. Cue his father's Sarcastic Clapping behind him, and an Oh, Crap! look from Clark.
  • Occurs in "The Ensigns of Command", the second episode of the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, after Data's speech to human colonists in danger of being wiped out by the Sheliak. The colonists' leader immediately begins Sarcastic Clapping.
  • In Supernatural:
    • Crowley is fond of this. Being a demon, he can teleport in and do it when you think no one else is around. Once, he switched out the "bravo" for a more obnoxious "...and scene." to end an emotional moment.
    • A witch catches Sam and Dean breaking into his hotel room. The witch uses this trope as Sam's punishment. Sam later discovers that he has spontaneously developed gonorrhea, aka "the clap".
    • The Trickster does this when Sam and Dean trap him and reveal that he's the Archangel Gabriel.
  • The Untamed: Jin Guangyao does this during the final confrontation.
  • Wizards of Waverly Place:
    • Justin does it one episode, after Max attempts to take out the garbage using magic and fails. (This is the episode just after Alex and Justin have been bounced back to level one wizard training.)
      Justin: [clapping] Ladies and gentlemen, the future family wizard.
    • And then a moment later, when Alex declares she's quitting the wizard competition.
      Justin: [clapping] Ladies and gentlemen, the Russo family quitter. We are an impressive bunch.
  • In the Adam-12 episode "Dirt Duel," a group of cop-hating bikers show up to a meeting. When it's mentioned that a civilian helped catch a thief, everyone applauds. One of the bikers (played by Micky Dolenz) slowly claps.

    Music 

    Other 

    Professional Wrestling 
  • Seen in a Japanese match cited by Botchamania as a rare case of a botch improving a match. A rookie wrestler is fighting a veteran who's made it clear he doesn't respect the rookie. At one point, the rookie climbs the ropes, only to stumble off the top. The veteran is confused for a second, and then begins to sarcastically applaud before mockingly signalling the crowd to cheer. That's when the rookie jumps and pins him.
  • Triple H did this on occasion during his time as a heel.
  • Chris Jericho would also occasionally bust it out during his goofier days.
  • Jericho would also be a recipient of this. During a feud with Chris Benoit, Jericho did a "Three Eggs and Ham" parody of when he'd fight Benoit, with images on the Titantron corresponding to his verbiage with Benoit's head on each one. Once it ended Benoit came out and did the sarcastic clapping.
  • Jushin "Thunder" Liger broke into a round of Sarcastic Clapping after his opponent botched a dive off the ropes and fell on his head.
  • Héctor del Mar, WWE commentator on Spanish television, used a variation when his broadcast partner Fernando Costilla adopted a heel announcer role. Whenever Costilla requested applause for a heel, Héctor would respond by clapping just once.

    Radio 
  • Sometimes invoked on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: When a musical round is so successful that the audience starts clapping in time, Jack Dee will puncture it with a comment like "I think the slow clap was a bit unkind."

    Theatre 
  • Called for in the last scene of Act 1 of Damn Yankees. Applegate uses the tactic when he enters following "Whatever Lola Wants", responding to Lola's failure to... uh... get what she wants.
  • Avenue Q gives us the song "Schadenfreude": "You ever clap when a waitress slips and drops a tray of glasses?" "Uh-huh." "And ain't it fun to watch figure skaters falling on their asses?"
  • In Pippin, this is the Players' reaction to Pippin's opening speech and song.
  • In Tosca, as the heroine cries in agony upon hearing her lover being tortured, Scarpia gives a clap and says she has never been that tragic on stage. In some productions, he also applauds her after Vissi d'arte.

    Video Games 
  • In Bayonetta 2, this is the titular character's reaction after watching Loki take out a group of angels by himself, granted this might be subverted since she did seem at least somewhat genuinely impressed with his skills beforehand (she is notorious for her snark, after all). This clapping animation is actually used for Bayonetta's losing animation for her appearance as a Guest Fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, looking as snarky and sarcastic as ever.
  • Happens in BlazBlue when Hazama loses by time out. As if to mock you for not being able to knock him out before the timer runs out.
  • Happens in Borderlands 2 after you survive an initiation put up by The Slab King, AKA Brick. A Bandit named "Sarcastic Slab" appears and makes sarcastic comments while clapping for you. If you kill him, The Slab King will commend you for it.
    • And when you deal damage to him, he just claps faster.
    • A later mission for the Slab King has you meet with his lieutenant Rocko, who does much the same. Sadly, you can't kill him.
  • In Breath of Fire IV, Marlok does this after the party wins a battle against his incompetent bodyguard Kahn.
  • Brütal Legend: General Lionwhyte does this when the heroes assemble before his tower. He even includes the "Bravo."
  • Castlevania: Curse of Darkness: Zead does this twice: once when Hector starts gaining the power necessary to complete his quest, and once when he refuses to do so. Given the contradictory circumstances, one may wonder if he knows anything about the proper use of sarcastic clapping (then again, there is little reason to learn such nuances when you don't have skin on your hands.)
  • General Raveshaw from Command & Conquer: Renegade does this when he finds you attempting to rescue the scientists in the Black Hand mansion.
  • Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled: Liz does this in her podium animation if she places 2nd or 3rd.
  • Destiny has this, first made well-known in their ice bucket challenge video. It eventually made it into the game as an emote.
  • Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: Jester does this after witnessing Dante, Vergil and Lady fight each other. It's also when he reveals that he is Arkham and has been playing the three like a fiddle.
  • Devil May Cry 4: Dante does this to express his disdain after seeing Sanctus unleash The Savior as a masquerade to save the citizens of Fortuna after Agnus opens the Hellgate to the Demon World.
  • Devil Survivor 2: In the Anguished One's ending, after managing to activate the Terminal to Polaris, Yamato enters the scene with one of these. If you have Joe in your party, he even comments "I know a sarcastic clap when I hear one."
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, after Arl Eamon's speech at the Landsmeet, Loghain approaches, applauding sarcastically.
  • Dragon Quest XI: The Supreme Commander of the Spectral Sentinels, Jasper does this when faced when Heliodor Castle. And he even does the "Bra-Vo". This trope isn't going away any time soon.
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has the Slow Clap emote, sold for 3 crowns in the regular shop rotation. When activated, your Fall Guy stares and squints while doing a slow, sarcastic applause.
  • About halfway through Geist your nemesis does this, and while possessing your body just to show off.
  • Slayer in Guilty Gear X does this as his taunt.
  • Magolor does it in Kirby's Return to Dream Land when he reveals he was Evil All Along.
  • In Lunar: The Silver Star, when Alex and his gang defeat the Black Dragon, Big Bad The Magic Emperor "congratulates" them on taking out the last remaining obstacle in his attempt to Take Over the World. Turns out it was part of his plan all along to have the four dragons eliminated so that he could assert complete control over the goddess Althena.
  • Revolver Ocelot did this in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, while stepping out of the shadows of Metal Gear Ray, after hearing Marine Commandant Scott Dolph's motivational speech to the Marines.
  • Mortal Kombat 9: In one of Sheeva's fatalities, she rips off her opponent's arms, slaps him or her around with them before kicking the body down, and then flexes while using the arms to sarcastically applaud.
  • Overwatch: Reaper has this as one of his emotes.
  • Persona 4 has Adachi doing this when the party finally reaches him in his dungeon.
  • Damon Gant from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney complete with the Laughing Mad.
  • Portal 2: GLaDOS claims to have a Slow Clap Processor built specifically for this purpose. It's also one of the few things that remains with her when her consciousness gets transferred into a potato.
    GLaDOS: Oh, hi. So. How are you holding up? BECAUSE I'M A POTATO. [Clap. Clap. Clap.] Oh good, my Slow Clap Processor made it into this thing. So we have that.
    [A short time later]
    ... and you just put him in charge of the entire facility. [Clap. Clap.] Good, that's still working.
  • Salazar does this in one scene of Resident Evil 4.
    • And Excella does this to Chris and Sheva, and even has the "Bra-vo".
  • Saints Row 2: The Boss does this during a cutscene during the Brotherhood campaign. Why? Because s/he just stuffed Brotherhood leader Maero's girlfriend Jessica into the trunk of her car and positioned it to be run over by a monster truck... that Maero was driving. The real root of this issue is that Maero offered a sleazy cut of the deal to the Boss for a possible alliance between the Saints and the Brotherhood, to which the Boss did not take well and started a vicious campaign involving a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim offers a particularly malicious one from Commander Maro after you fail to assassinate the emperor.
  • Eggman Nega in Sonic Rush Adventure (through text).
  • In Star Wars: The Old Republic's first Republic flashpoint, a Mandalorian commander greets your party with a sarcastic clap. There's also an emote named for him that lets your character do this. "Insert Player Name Here is so very impressed [with $target]."
  • Tales Series:
    • Tales of Symphonia: Mithos: "Wow, that was an amazingly corny speech. Congratulations."
    • Yeager, from Tales of Vesperia, does this rather often when praising the main party, along with his trademark "ja".
  • Vagrant Story: Sydney, having already proven he's not terribly impressed with Ashley by responding to a crossbow bolt through the chest with "quite a scratch" drives the point home with a dose of sarcastic clapping after you beat the Minotaur. Made a little stranger by the fact that the clapper has metal hands and isn't shown for a few seconds after he starts, making for a moment of confusion when an unidentifiable tink tink tink sound breaks into the cutscene.
  • In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a potential outcome of the Hearts of Stone expansion has Geralt challenge Gaunter O'Dimm to a game of wits, and he wins. As Gaunter O'Dimm is being banished back to Hell, he does this at Geralt while promising in Black Speechnote  that he cannot be killed and will be back sooner or later.
  • World of Warcraft has the /golfclap emote for those times when a player wants to make it clear he/she is unimpressed.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Consul B, the same person who drove Noah, Lanz and Eunie out of Colony 9 does this during Zeon's Hero Quest.

    Web Animation 

    Webcomics 

    Web Original 
  • In The Gamer's Alliance, Vaetris, posing as Ax in Alent, starts clapping in this manner as she steps into the light while she witnesses the captive Refan nearly succeed in seducing Irinthiel with his demonic powers. However, part of it is also her being genuinely impressed by how quickly Refan has learned the demonic trick although she knows he's still no match for her.
    Vaetris: "That was quite impressive, Refan. You learn quickly! And now, you see the secret to true power...the power that the North only wishes they could harness. Chaos without order is nothing. Power without control is nothing."
  • The Nostalgia Chick does this to the rest of the Kickassia team after they're cheering about having beaten The Nostalgia Critic to death. It Makes Sense in Context.
  • The Runaway Guys: Jon does this often in response to Emile's antics. A plethora of notable examples is in their LP of the 2012 Wheel of Fortune game.
  • The X-Axis review of the infamous "exploding communion wafers simulate the Rapture" X-Men storyline concludes "I'm not sure how you do sarcastic slow applause in print, but imagine it here."
  • Cinnamon Bunzuh!: Ifi loves slow clapping at whenever the Animorphs do something idiotic.
  • Kitboga is a scambaiter popular on Twitch and YouTube.
    • In "Buying Hot Dogs Instead of Gift Cards (for Scammers)" he does this after the scammer completes the portion of the scam of claiming to have accidentally transferred way too much money to his bank account.
      Scammer: What are you doing? Are you clapping at me?
    • In "Scammer Loses Her Mind Over $10,000 Mistake" (a.k.a. "Do Not cut the Cards"), the scammer, Kelly, does this after Kitboga's character, Dawn Dewitt (Granny Edna) states that she has finished cutting up the last gift card.
  • In the King of Tokyo episode of Table Top, Greg at one point uses one of his ability cards to make Craig reroll one of his dice, only for the rerolled dice to win Craig 3 points instead. The other two players at the table give Greg a slow clap.

    Western Animation 
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Commander Zhao does this to the fire sage who betrays his comrades to help Aang and the others.
    • Azula does it during "The Beach," when she dismisses everyone else's problems as mere "performances".
  • Gutierrez does it when Freakazoid! removes the bracelet bomb in the season 1 finale.
  • Gravity Falls: Invoked outright in "Headhunters", by the true culprit of the beheading of Wax Stan, the wax statue version of Sherlock Holmes.
    "Applaud everyone, applaud sarcastically! (everyone claps) Uhhh no that sounds too sincere, slower. (everyone claps slower) There we go, nice and condescending."
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has Discord doing this, saying "Bravo, ponies, bravo! Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools."
    • The real kicker is that each clap of paw and claw is a sound that is anything but the sound of hands clapping. In order, it's a duck's quack, clack, a dog's bark, a frog's ribbit, a squishing noise, a camera click, and a thunder clap. Justified in that he's the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, after all.
    • Starlight Glimmer clops her hooves together this way in "The Cutie Re-Mark, Part 2" during one time loop when Twilight attempts to shoot her with a capturing spell, only to hit the filly Rainbow Dash and prevent her from doing the Sonic Rainboom as Starlight planned to.
  • Bluey: Done beautifully by Chilli Heeler from the series 3 premiere episode, "Perfect". When Bandit asks Chilli, Bluey, and Bingo asks them to cheer for him when he walks in the room announcing, "It's Dad!", Chilli's response is a sarcastic two-clap with a deadpan look on her face, much to Bandit's annoyance as Bluey and Bingo laugh at him.
  • Phineas and Ferb: Dr. Doofenshmirtz does this in the introduction the episode "Phineas and Ferb and the Temple of Juatchadoon", to make his entrance more dramatic. Minutes later, after his plan is foiled, Norm starts to clap slowly, and Doof says, "Way too soon for a callback, Norm."
  • Rick and Morty: Evil Rick does this when he captures Rick C-137 (our Rick).
    Rick C-137: The slow clap? Really? Kind of played out, dude.
    Evil Rick: Not in this dimension, it isn't. In fact I invented it. Nobody else has ever even done it here before.
    Rick C-137: [sarcastic clapping] Well, la-dee-da.
    Evil Rick: Hey, that's mine!
  • Homer's brain to Homer in The Simpsons episode "The Last Temptation of Homer".
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars: In "Plan of Dissent", after Hardcase figures out how to control the Umbaran fighters, but blows up half the hangar in the process, leading General Krell to order them locked down:
    Jesse: [walks up, clapping] I thought the plan was to blow up the supply ship, not destroy our own hangar.
  • Ugly Americans: Invoked in the first episode. After Mark expresses empathy for legal immigrants at a staff meeting, Frank starts clapping sarcastically. Mark's partner Leonard joins in, and the two argue over whether Leonard was actually clapping sarcastically or going for a dramatic slow building applause. Twayne has to shout "Stop clapping!"

    Real Life 
  • When plates or glasses are dropped and broken in restaurants and school and summer camp cafeterias and dining halls, the typical response is for everyone to burst out in applause. Some restaurants even institute this as a policy for their staff. The idea apparently is to turn an otherwise embarrassing gaffe into a fun little tradition, humorously implying, "I Meant to Do That!"
    • In Israel it is also common to hear someone saying "Mazel tov," referring to the custom of breaking a cup at Jewish weddings.
    • Military members get similar treatment in a mess hall. Dropping a plate of food will earn you cheering, chanting, wild applause, and someone will likely get up to get you a fresh meal, all in the spirit of good-natured mockery.
    • At Texas A&M, wild applause is the customary response to someone accidentally trying to leave via one of the fire exits, which sets off the dining hall's fire alarms. Meanwhile, dropping a tray gets you a resounding cry of "PICK IT UP!"
  • Some people play the "Last Clap". Sometimes, participation by other, unseen players carries the "applause" minutes into the next performance.
  • Tends to occur in Football matches, when a player is given a yellow or red card and disagrees. Most likely because more extreme reactions can lead to very hefty punishments. Just like the Cristiano Ronaldo example pictured above. David Beckham also did it, and he got expelled from the game, although it was later proven that he did not intend to insult the referee.
  • Slow Clap for Congress.
    • On a related note, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's memetic "applause" at President Trump's State of the Union address.
  • During the 2013 National Television Awards, Martin Freeman did a hilarious version of this when Downton Abbey beat Sherlock (in which he stars) for Best Drama. He wasn't even clapping, he was airclapping!
  • At Baseball games, the crowd will sometimes sarcastically clap and cheer if a pitcher finally throws a strike after a long string of balls and hits.
    • Likewise, it happens in basketball games if one team goes on a long scoreless streak that finally ends.
  • Operation Eagle Claw began with intensively-trained Delta Force Operators embarking on an ambitious scheme to end the Iran Hostage Crisis and ended with them evacuating a burning EC-130 at an early stage in the mission. Heading back to the US, the operators got on an aircraft whose crew chief who didn't know them and gave a verbose presentation on how to evacuate in the event the plane caught fire. According to Col. Charlie Beckwith's memoirs, the singed, smoke-scented operators gave the man a standing ovation.
  • After the 2017 Cleveland Browns went 0-16 on the season, the fans were understandably frustrated with the result, especially since the Browns had already gone 1-15 the previous year. Their response? A parade to celebrate their team's "perfect" season!
  • In February 2020, French actress Adele Haenel walked out of the César Awards after Roman Polański (who has been a fugitive since 1978 when he fled the US after he pleaded guilty to drugging and raping a thirteen year old girl) won Best Director while sarcastically clapping and saying, “Bravo to the pedophile!” on her way out of the building.
  • At the practice session for the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championship, the announcer mistakenly announced Japanese figure skaters Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno as being from China. When they got to "Boyang Jin, from China!" (which was correct), Hanyu and his coach Brian Orser laughs and claps.


 
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Bluey - It's Dad!

When Bandit asks Bluey, Bingo, and Chilli to cheer for Bandit when he walks in the kitchen announcing "It's Dad!", Chilli's response is a sarcastic two-clap with a deadpan smirk on her face, much to Bandit's annoyance as Bluey and Bingo laugh at him.

How well does it match the trope?

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Main / SarcasticClapping

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