drop [OE] In the course of its history people have dropped all sorts of things: bombs, names, aitches, goals, LSD, hints, stitches, and more. Since the 1940s they have been dropping clangers, although the slightly less obtrusive brick has also been let slip since the 1920s. To drop a clanger is ‘to make an embarrassing mistake or tactless remark’. Clangers only turn up in this phrase, but presumably they are things that make a very loud noise on hitting the ground and so draw immediate attention to the person responsible for dropping them. See also drip.