"Does nuclear status boost India's CLOUT? In May 1998, India stunned the world after it conducted nuclear tests in the Rajasthan desert. It was a move that was bitterly criticised internationally as well as within both countries."
(Sanjoy Majumder - BBC News Online correspondent in Delhi - 12 May 2003)
Did you know?
Did you know?
clout
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English clut; akin to Middle High German klOz lump, Russian gluda
Date: before 12th century
(of the 4 definitions offered by Merriam Webster below, you really only need to learn Nr 4):
1 dialect chiefly British : a piece of cloth or leather
2 : a blow especially with the hand; also : a hard hit in baseball
3 : a white cloth on a stake or frame used as a target in archery