Kevin Frazier

A lot of reporters don't have conversations - they just fire off questions. I'm going to listen to what you're saying. If you start giving me a pat answer, I'm going to challenge you. That's where my sports background helps, because athletes do it all the time. So you have to stop them... and sometimes they're going to yell back at you. So what?

American Journalist

Steve Nicol

I've always said, nothing wrong with being frustrated and upset with bad results, but you get it out of your system. You can't stick it in a bag and carry it around with you. You have to move on, same way you would if things went well. You know, don't spend the rest of the week patting everyone on the back and saying how well they've done.

Margaret Trudeau

I remember, after my first postpartum depression, I didn't know what had happened to me. I was stuck in this gray depression where I just wanted to retreat and pull the covers over my head and weep. My mother and I, we went to a psychiatrist, and he just patted me on the head and told me I had baby blues, which was not helpful, obviously.

Canadian Author

Marquise Goodwin

My wife at home. She didn't have a pregnant belly anymore, nobody to cling to, no shoulder to cry on, no one to talk to, while I'm at work getting the love and everybody just patting me on the back. I was mad. I felt that I should be at home helping my best friend get past the grief.

American Football Player

John Lloyd

I do have at home the most ridiculous number of awards for what I have done, which is nice in terms of being patted on the back, yet it does cure you of caring about what other people say about you. Ultimately, you must have your own standard of what is good enough.

British Producer

Sara Pascoe

There's social media where people's politics are out there, they're forwarding articles and seem engaged, but it's only online. We tweet and pat ourselves on the back, thinking we have done something, said we're interested, but it needs more work.

English Comedian

Jesse Ventura

I'm the only person in the world that, when he holds down two jobs, gets criticized for it; everyone else gets a pat on the back and say, 'What an entrepreneuring, hardworking person,' but apparently that doesn't apply to me.

American Politician

John Mica

They've just gone over the line in my opinion, and again, there's a proper time for a pat down, there's a proper time for an advanced technology body search, but it has to be done with some thought.

Niecy Nash

Even after I got my divorce, the ink wasn't even dry on the paper, and I said, 'Ooh, the next time I become a wife, I got this thing down pat!' I always believed that there was someone built for me.

American Comedian

Parvathy

Awards are like a pat of appreciation from the jury and viewers. It is almost like them saying, 'So, you have done well; we expect you to carry on doing good work.

Indian Actress

Used to show affection or comfort to animals and people in a soft, soothing manner.

Gentle Gesture

A 'pat on the back' often symbolizes praise or approval for a job well done.

Encouragement

A 'pat of butter' refers to a small, manageable amount, often used for spreading.

Food Measurements

Indicates that someone can immediately recall information without hesitation.

Immediate Recall

Suggest someone has rehearsed or learned something so well that it seems effortless.

Practiced Skill

To 'pat' as a verb usually shows kindness or affectionate touch to a living being.

Affectionate Action

May be used to guide or correct in a gentle way, such as with pets.

Gentle Correction

A 'pat' adjective indicates a response is somewhat automatic, lacking originality or depth.

Canned Response

Used when someone gives a predictable reply often heard before, possibly insincere.

Predictable Reply

 that I sent to every single person I came out to. And I kept it in my email signature for months afterwards, because you also don't ever stop coming out. I came out to the accountant helping me with my taxes and the TSA agents who didn't know which one of them should pat me down, the man or the woman.

How to talk (and listen)...

 he patted me on the back and wished me well, and I thanked him so much. And again, I think he's going to remember that experience more than when I first came in, and there was a bit of hesitation. And as you notice, I get a lot of help. I would not be where I am today

Asking for help is a...

 Now that seems kind of mundane, but think about how in real life, if we're having a conversation and we want to change the topic, there are ways of doing it gracefully. You don't just zip right into it. You'll pat your thighs and look wistfully off into the distance,

John McWhorter: Txtng is...

 with curiosity, compassion, and especially the courage to take values-connected steps. When I was little, I would wake up at night terrified by the idea of death. My father would comfort me with soft pats and kisses. But he would never lie.

The gift and power of...

 Inside a tunnel, ball, or pat, once the larvae hatch, they consume the dung before metamorphosing into a pupa and then an adult beetle. Besides clearing dung, the actions of these beetles have considerable ecological importance.

Why isn't the world...

 I've taught myself to sew, cook, fix plumbing, build furniture, I can even pat myself on the back when necessary, all so I don't have to ask anyone for anything. There's nothing I need from anyone except for love and respect,

LZ Granderson: The myth...

 it was one of the driest years on record pat remembers the morning her deputy broke the bad news when she came in and said we've got problems we had huge problems there had been virtually zip snowpack in the upper basin so

The Water Crisis PIPE...

 Drifters allow the world to write the story of their lives. They let mechanisms of reward and punishment -- pats on the head, fear, the easiness of an option -- to determine what they do. So the lesson of hard

How to make hard choices...

 going to write down pup in a few weeks now I was like quickly getting my diving certificate and then a few weeks later we went to write down pat my god the magical of underwater world I fell in

Empower locals to...

 Yeah, we're going to be good friends. I almost patted her there. Just seems a natural thing to do.

Pat