Dictionary

back-patty en · ADJ

Etymology

From back-pat + -y.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Self-congratulatory or self-aggrandizing.
   • But before we get all back-patty about our leaps and bounds in the progress of human endeavor, it is worth remembering that the world of science can seem extraordinarily backward when it comes to those with two X chromosomes. 2018, Elizabeth Foley, Beth Coates, What Would Cleopatra Do?: Life Lessons from 50 of History's Most Extraordinary Women, page 102:
   • So what's got me feeling mildly smug and back-patty today? 2018 April 5, Marc T. Michael, “In A State Of His Own”, in The Pulse, page 16:
   • We can all start off feeling back-patty and warm with our secret selves, having identified a literary allusion. 1969 May, book review, The Strayed Reveller, number 3, page 7:

Forms

Relateds

pat on the back