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Merriam-Webster defines "afterclap" as "an unexpected damaging or unsettling event following a supposedly closed affair." However, a pastor from Oregon, John Mark Comer, wrote an article about marriage in which he used "afterclap" this way:

"Like millions upon millions of other Americans, I married for happiness.

That sounds innocuous at first glance. Heck, it sounds romantic. But the trouble is that happiness is the result of a healthy marriage. It’s not the reason for marriage. Happiness is a great thing, but it’s the by-product, the AFTERCLAP of marriage. It’s not the point."

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/relationships/promise-you-cant-keep-marriage#a0K12TzL7VVJFqTa.99

It seems that "afterclap", here, simply means "consequence". Happiness is obviously not an "unsettling or damaging event", so, basing solely from Merriam-Webster's definition of the word, "afterclap" is probably not the best word to describe happiness.

So, native speakers: how would you define and use the word "afterclap"? Does it have a positive or a negative connotation? Was Merriam-Webster wrong? Did the writer of the article use the word correctly? Thanks a lot.

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This word is new to me and even in context it seems like a weird combination. There's the common 'aftereffect' or more colorful 'blowback' which already exist. It sound like the person who used this is making a malapropism. –  Mitch Feb 13 at 13:57
Did anyone else notice the rather cute pun on 'clap' (i.e. a slang term for gonorrhea) in the Merriam-Webster definition, "An unexpected damaging or unsettling event following a supposedly closed affair"? –  Erik Kowal Sep 13 at 7:20

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I'm just going to say that as a fairly well-educated native-speaker American, I've never heard of the word "afterclap" until reading this question. So, I would tend not to use it and would not apply any connotations to it.

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