backslap

American  

[bak-slap] / ˈbækˌslæp /

verb (used with object)

backslapped, backslapping

1. to subject to backslapping.

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verb (used without object)

backslapped, backslapping

1. to engage in backslapping.

noun

1. a hearty slap on the back given as a token of affability or congratulation.

   The bridegroom received many a warm handshake and backslap.

Etymology

Origin of backslap

First recorded in 1925–30; back ¹ + slap ¹

Example Sentences

Afterward, Mbappe was consoled by his country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, while Messi was congratulated by an emir, with Qatar’s leader giving him a Bisht, a black and gold robe, and a backslap.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2022

The video, however, showed Giuliani in no danger of toppling from the backslap.

From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2022

His tone is both more dire than the president’s and more emotional — a kind of virtual New York backslap next to Mr. Trump’s outer borough pitchmanship.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2020

But the eagerness to backslap Sandler for the type of puerile and incurious humor he’s been peddling for the past two decades is revealing on its own, too.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2018

His idiom consists exclusively of backslap and bluster.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 21, 2015