Hit lightly (3)
I believe the answer is:
pat
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">hit lightly</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for pat that I've seen before include "Slick; dab" , "Girl" , "Touch; name" , "Tap lightly" , "Knob (of butter)" .)