A blow or strike, most properly with the fist. This word is found in several old English authors, and in the Shropshire and Dorset Glossaries of the present day. With us it is a vulgar expression frequently heard.
The kynges sone, one and proud,
Gaf king Richard swylke a ner clout
That the fyre of his heyen sprong.
Richard Cœur de Lyon, v. 768.
The late queene of Spaine took off one of her chapines, and clouted Olivarez about the noddle with it.
Howell, Familiar Letters.
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
Short nails with large heads for the soles of strong shoes.--Hartshorne's Shropshire. ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.