HAVE or KNOW SOMETHING OFF PAT!
Have you, Brazilian, ever heard of this expression before?
No? That's why you have me here :)
Its definition, according to our friend Cambridge Dictionary, means: to know something so well that you can say or do it without having to try or think.
I will give you an example:
I'm so used to translating economic reports to one of my clients (you might not know, but I'm a translator EN><BRPT) that I know all the economic terms off pat. I don't need to use the dictionary because I'm very familiar with the terminology of this specific area of Economics that I work with.
In Brazilian Portuguese, we could translate it as: "Eu sei de cor ou de olhos fechados". However, try not to mix it up with "off the top of my head" (which can be translated as "saber algo de cabeça").
Although both expressions are pretty similar, to know something off pat is more related to a habit or activity that has been done so many times that it became fixated in your mind. "Off the top of my head", however, is more used when you don't know the exact details of a situation at the moment you are speaking (no momento da fala), but you remember something (or not) off the top of your head. It's more connected to memorising something rather than talking about a habit or an activity.
For example: "I don't know my number off the top of my head" (Eu não sei meu número de cabeça). In this situation, it would sound a bit unusual to say "I don't know my number off pat", as memorising numbers is not exactly a habit.
Some other examples with "to know something off pat":
I know it's a little tricky getting the hang of the machine, but keep at it, and you'll know it off pat in no time.
My sister is such a musical prodigy that she can know a song off pat after listening to it only
once or twice.
If you wish to hear me talking about this expression on a video format, please click here. :)
Hope you liked it! See you next time!
Raiza
____________________
Instagram: @raizaponticelli
Tiktok: @raiponticelli
Website: raizaponticelli.com