Words & TermsEveryday life
Clayton's
A thing that exists in name only, or is an inferior substitute.
In a sentence
The committee offered a Clayton’s apology with no admission of fault.
Where it came from
Clayton’s comes from a 1970s–80s advertising campaign for a non-alcoholic drink: the drink you have when you’re not having a drink. The trademark then became shorthand for an ersatz or merely nominal version of something.
- Initial era
- 1950–1999
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Current but strongly associated with 1980s advertising