[texhax] Changing reference point of a box in a nestable way

[Misha Aizatulin]

hi all,

  I'm trying to define a command that would work a bit like clap but
vertically, i.e. packages its argument in a box with depth equal to
\ht\strutbox. The main use for that is to allow top alignment in tabular
without having to manually specify widths of columns.

  So far I came up with the attached code (with a bit of voodoo to be
honest). It works, but the only problem is that it can't be nested:
\vlap{\vlap{x}} produces no output at all. I'm not sure about the
reason, suspect that the use of the box in the inner vlap screws up the
use of the box in the outer vlap.

  Would be thankful for any comments on how to fix this!

Best,
  Misha
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