"I'd pronounce claws with a voiced sibilant at the end and Claus with an unvoiced one."

Not to begin a protracted off topic discussion, since I know very little of orthoepy (recently learned word which I'm not even sure how to pronounce) but would you say that Claus rhymes with Oz as in Wizard of Oz?

"...normal human being..."

Am I supposed to read between the lines to infer something about your opinion of Bostonians Faldage? All I know about Boston accents I learned from listening to Mayor Quimby (a cartoon being), and watching commercials.