claque
/klæk/noun
1- a group of people hired to applaud (or heckle) a performer or public speaker一群雇来为演员捧场的人; 一群雇来对演讲者起哄的人。
1.1
- a group of sycophantic followers一群阿谀奉承的追随者：
the President was surrounded by a claque of scheming bureaucrats.
总统被一群阿谀奉承、诡计多端的官僚所包围。
词源
mid 19th cent.: French, from claquer 'to clap'. The practice of paying members of an audience for their support originated at the Paris opera.