pat on the head

But for the moment, this looks like a pat on the head to a couple of avid but irksome boosters.

Trump’s “praise” of Donalds is part of a larger pattern where the corrupt ex-president identifies “his” so-called special African-Americans to metamorphically — if not literally — pat on the head at his rallies and other events.

“Whatever California does is going to set the pattern for the rest of the nation. We need serious regulation, not a pat on the head.”

When I expressed dismay that she’d been snubbed, I was met with condescension from adults who informed me, with a pat on the head, that superhero movies don’t get acting Oscars.

Then she realizes that just to get a pat on the head, and "This is for the experience. It's not actually for money."