To be fair, in the context of reddit where it became a thing, the ELI5 subreddit defines the term as meaning layperson-accessible explanations, not patronizing

To be fair, in the context of reddit where it became a thing, the ELI5 subreddit defines the term as meaning layperson-accessible explanations, not patronizing "treat the asker like a literal five-year-old child" explanations.