coddle

“For all I know, those dancing chickens would enjoy a bit of coddling. And who does not like to hear a good story?”

For a panda to survive in the wild, a panda must be wild—and that can’t happen if it’s been cuddled and coddled and cared for by humans before it’s released.

The final stretch requires more coddling and, of course, cost.

The death of Manzo — who cut a national reputation by insisting that officials coddled criminals — only heightened a pervasive sense of vulnerability, especially in places like Michoacán.

A good fit for: Cooks who don’t want to coddle their pans and don’t mind a little oil.