table rapping

1 9.9

A way people try to talk with dead people by tapping a table

noun
/ˈteɪbəl ˈræpɪŋ/

Archaic

: tapping de mesa

The medium explained how table rapping works, emphasizing its role in connecting with spirits.

Examples

My opinion's that table rapping merely proves that the so-called educated classes are no better than the peasants.

Anna Karenina (1997)
Countess Nordston was telling me about a demonstration of table rapping and spiritualism she attended.

Anna Karenina (1997)
During the séance, the participants were astounded by the messages received through table rapping.
At the gathering, they attempted table rapping to communicate with a spirit said to haunt the old house.

Synonyms

table tapping

vstable rapping

Archaic

9.9

A way people try to talk to the dead by knocking on a table during a meeting

is the same practice but named using a different sound word

spirit rapping

vstable rapping

Archaic

9.9

A way people think ghosts answer by making short knocking sounds

is performed specifically by making knocks on furniture during seance

Surface Forms

table rapping singular

table rappings plural

Morphology

table + rap

The phrase is compositionally built from 'table' and 'rap', so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer it involves striking or tapping a table (literal sound-making). However, the specific cultural/ritual meaning—a method of alleged spirit communication during séances—is a specialized, pragmatic association that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure is needed.

Etymology

Table rapping comes from spirit meetings where people sat around a table and listened for knocks or 'raps' on the wood as if the dead were answering, the sound itself called rapping. So, it means 'a way of trying to get messages from the dead by listening to knocking sounds on a table'.