Opera hat which means hat, and "claque", which means "tap" or "click". The "chapeau claque" is thus a hat that folds with a click, and unfolds likewise. In English the hat model is usually referred to as a "collapsible top-hat", "gibus" or more often "opera hat"- The construction may originally have been inspired by an historical hat model called "chapeau bras" ("arm hat"), made as bicorne or tricorne to be carried folded under the arm On May 5, 1812, a London hatter called Thomas Francis Dollman patented a design for "an elastic round hat" supported by ribs and springs. His patent was
Shapoklyak she wears — borrowed from the French word chapeau claque, an obsolete spring-loaded top hat, which sounds funny for the Russian ear. Shapoklyak Shapoklyak ( - Old Lady Shapoklyak) was a popular villain from a story about Cheburashka written by Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. The first appearance of Shapoklyak (in the movie) was in the animated film "Gena the Crocodile" (1969) by Roman Kachanov (Soyuzmultfilm studio). She appears as an old woman, wearing an outdated hat and carrying a purse, in which she carries her pet rat Lariska. In the film "Cheburashka Goes to School" (1983) she admits that she