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Help[Opinions] Re: Patrick, Pat, and Paddy
in reply to a message by Ani
I always did like Patrick, but more as a mn.
I'm not wild about Pat, but it is okay. The main trouble is it is so unisex it's a cliche. Back in the 1990s, Julia Sweeney had a character on Saturday Night Live named Pat and the joke was nobody could be sure if Pat was a Patricia or a Patrick. It was funny the first couple of times, but that was the whole point of the character and it got old fast. Julia would be in bad trouble if she tried Pat today, I'm afraid.
Paddy is a no-no unless you're so Irish you have shamrocks growing on your face. It's very much a cliche as well.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin
I'm not wild about Pat, but it is okay. The main trouble is it is so unisex it's a cliche. Back in the 1990s, Julia Sweeney had a character on Saturday Night Live named Pat and the joke was nobody could be sure if Pat was a Patricia or a Patrick. It was funny the first couple of times, but that was the whole point of the character and it got old fast. Julia would be in bad trouble if she tried Pat today, I'm afraid.
Paddy is a no-no unless you're so Irish you have shamrocks growing on your face. It's very much a cliche as well.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin
Replies
I still think "It's Pat" is funny. I think it wasn't mean. The joke was really at the expense of the people around Pat, and on the audience, who were the only ones suffering from confusion. Pat was fine! But you are probably right, nobody on SNL would try it today.
I didn't think it was mean ...
And I still don't, actually.
Part of the problem was that Pat wasn't just unaware of the trouble people were having trying to figure her out, she was really dense all around, and a lot of the humor was helped along by her denseness. If I recall, she had some rather off-putting mannerisms as well, as in, off-putting for someone of either sex.
And I still don't, actually.
Part of the problem was that Pat wasn't just unaware of the trouble people were having trying to figure her out, she was really dense all around, and a lot of the humor was helped along by her denseness. If I recall, she had some rather off-putting mannerisms as well, as in, off-putting for someone of either sex.
If I had to use one I'd pick Rick, I think. Pat is all right but it feels like a grown man's name. Hard to picture a little Pat of either sex. The way it's hard for me to picture a little Bob or Bill or Tom.