diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py
index 6c79f164d4..fb8f10e1fd 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ class Author(base.Base):
         for commit in self.commits:
             for invalid in self.invalids:
                 if invalid.search(commit.author):
-                    self.fail('Invalid author %s' % commit.author, 'Resend the series with a valid patch\'s author', commit)
+                    self.fail('Invalid author %s. Resend the series with a valid patch author' % commit.author, commit=commit)
 
     def test_non_auh_upgrade(self):
         for commit in self.commits:
             if self.auh_email in commit.payload:
-                self.fail('Invalid author %s in commit message' % self.auh_email, 'Resend the series with a valid patch\'s author', commit)
+                self.fail('Invalid author %s. Resend the series with a valid patch author' % self.auh_email, commit=commit)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py
index e8de48bb8d..aa53b77f87 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py
@@ -16,7 +16,5 @@ class Bugzilla(base.Base):
             for line in commit.commit_message.splitlines():
                 if self.rexp_detect.match(line):
                     if not self.rexp_validation.match(line):
-                        self.fail('Yocto Project bugzilla tag is not correctly formatted',
-                                  'Specify bugzilla ID in commit description with format: "[YOCTO #<bugzilla ID>]"',
-                                  commit)
+                        self.fail('Bugzilla issue ID is not correctly formatted - specify it with format: "[YOCTO #<bugzilla ID>]"', commit=commit)
 
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py
index f99194c094..36548aa10c 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py
@@ -44,6 +44,5 @@ class CVE(base.Base):
             if self.revert_shortlog_regex.match(commit.shortlog):
                 continue
             if not self.prog.search_string(commit.payload):
-                self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in mbox',
-                          'Correct or include the CVE tag in the mbox with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
-                          commit)
+                self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in mbox. Correct or include the CVE tag in the mbox with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
+                          commit=commit)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py
index 7addc6b5f7..46bedd46ce 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py
@@ -11,7 +11,5 @@ class CommitMessage(base.Base):
     def test_commit_message_presence(self):
         for commit in CommitMessage.commits:
             if not commit.commit_message.strip():
-                self.fail('Patch is missing a descriptive commit message',
-                          'Please include a commit message on your patch explaining the change (most importantly why the change is being made)',
-                          commit)
+                self.fail('Mbox is missing a descriptive commit message. Please include a commit message on your patch explaining the change', commit=commit)
 
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py
index 85c452ca0d..42a8491a09 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py
@@ -11,6 +11,5 @@ class MboxFormat(base.Base):
 
     def test_mbox_format(self):
         if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.fail('Series cannot be parsed correctly due to malformed diff lines',
-                      'Create the series again using git-format-patch and ensure it can be applied using git am',
+            self.fail('Series cannot be parsed correctly due to malformed diff lines. Create the series again using git-format-patch and ensure it can be applied using git am',
                       data=[('Diff line', re.sub('^.+:\s(?<!$)','',self.unidiff_parse_error))])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py
index de38e205b1..1f9e0be07f 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py
@@ -43,16 +43,15 @@ class MailingList(base.Base):
         for commit in MailingList.commits:
             match = project_regex.match(commit.subject)
             if match:
-                self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list',
-                          'Check the project\'s README (%s) and send the patch to the indicated list' % match.group('project'),
-                          commit)
+                self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list. Check the project\'s README (%s) and send the patch to the indicated list' % match.group('project'),
+                          commit=commit)
 
         for patch in self.patchset:
             folders = patch.path.split('/')
             base_path = folders[0]
             for project in [self.bitbake, self.doc, self.oe, self.poky]:
                 if base_path in  project.paths:
-                    self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists', 'Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
+                    self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists. Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
                               data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (project.listemail, project.gitrepo)),
                                     ('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
 
@@ -60,5 +59,5 @@ class MailingList(base.Base):
             if base_path.startswith('scripts'):
                 for poky_file in self.poky_scripts:
                     if patch.path.startswith(poky_file):
-                        self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists', 'Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
+                        self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists. Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
                                   data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (self.poky.listemail, self.poky.gitrepo)),('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py
index c8b6718d15..a7e0821e72 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py
@@ -20,6 +20,5 @@ class Merge(base.Base):
     def test_series_merge_on_head(self):
         if not PatchTestInput.repo.ismerged:
             commithash, author, date, shortlog = headlog()
-            self.fail('Series does not apply on top of target branch',
-                      'Rebase your series on top of targeted branch',
+            self.fail('Series does not apply on top of target branch. Rebase your series and ensure the target is correct',
                       data=[('Targeted branch', '%s (currently at %s)' % (PatchTestInput.repo.branch, commithash))])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py
index b6c2a209ff..7cc71562f6 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py
@@ -24,9 +24,8 @@ class Shortlog(base.Base):
                 try:
                     parse_shortlog.shortlog.parseString(shortlog)
                 except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
-                    self.fail('Shortlog does not follow expected format',
-                              'Commit shortlog (first line of commit message) should follow the format "<target>: <summary>"',
-                              commit)
+                    self.fail('Commit shortlog (first line of commit message) should follow the format "<target>: <summary>"',
+                              commit=commit)
 
     def test_shortlog_length(self):
         for commit in Shortlog.commits:
@@ -36,6 +35,5 @@ class Shortlog(base.Base):
                 continue
             l = len(shortlog)
             if l > maxlength:
-                self.fail('Commit shortlog is too long',
-                          'Edit shortlog so that it is %d characters or less (currently %d characters)' % (maxlength, l),
-                          commit)
+                self.fail('Edit shortlog so that it is %d characters or less (currently %d characters)' % (maxlength, l),
+                          commit=commit)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py
index 6458951f1c..8fd705a2ef 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py
@@ -23,6 +23,5 @@ class SignedOffBy(base.Base):
             if self.revert_shortlog_regex.match(commit.shortlog):
                 continue
             if not SignedOffBy.prog.search_string(commit.payload):
-                self.fail('Patch is missing Signed-off-by',
-                          'Sign off the patch (either manually or with "git commit --amend -s")',
-                          commit)
+                self.fail('Mbox is missing Signed-off-by. Add it manually or with "git commit --amend -s"',
+                          commit=commit)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py
index e9a5b6bb4e..a25a65c6db 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py
@@ -34,8 +34,7 @@ class LicFilesChkSum(base.Metadata):
             if rd.getVar(self.license) == self.closed:
                 continue
             if not lic_files_chksum:
-                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata,
-                          'Specify the variable %s in %s' % (self.metadata, pn))
+                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata)
 
     def pretest_lic_files_chksum_modified_not_mentioned(self):
         if not self.modified:
@@ -77,6 +76,5 @@ class LicFilesChkSum(base.Metadata):
                     if self.lictag_re.search(commit.commit_message):
                        break
                 else:
-                    self.fail('LIC_FILES_CHKSUM changed on target %s but there is no "%s" tag in commit message' % (pn, self.lictag),
-                              'Include "%s: <description>" into the commit message with a brief description' % self.lictag,
+                    self.fail('LIC_FILES_CHKSUM changed on target %s but there is no "%s" tag in commit message. Include it with a brief description' % (pn, self.lictag),
                               data=[('Current checksum', pretest), ('New checksum', test)])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py
index 16604dbfb1..e49331603c 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py
@@ -51,5 +51,5 @@ class License(base.Metadata):
                 fd.write(''.join(lines[:-1]))
 
         if no_license:
-            self.fail('Recipe does not have the LICENSE field set', 'Include a LICENSE into the new recipe')
+            self.fail('Recipe does not have the LICENSE field set.')
 
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py
index 04a5e23469..b3a5dc9b79 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py
@@ -21,6 +21,5 @@ class MaxLength(base.Base):
                 if self.add_mark.match(line):
                     current_line_length = len(line[1:])
                     if current_line_length > self.max_length:
-                        self.fail('Patch line too long (current length %s)' % current_line_length,
-                                  'Shorten the corresponding patch line (max length supported %s)' % self.max_length,
+                        self.fail('Patch line too long (current length %s, maximum is %s)' % (current_line_length, self.max_length),
                                   data=[('Patch', patch.path), ('Line', '%s ...' % line[0:80])])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py
index 718229d7ad..ce2ace17bb 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ class SrcUri(base.Metadata):
                 # TODO: we are not taking into account  renames, so test may raise false positives
                 not_removed = filesremoved_from_usr_uri - filesremoved_from_patchset
                 if not_removed:
-                    self.fail('Patches not removed from tree',
-                              'Amend the patch containing the software patch file removal',
+                    self.fail('Patches not removed from tree. Remove them and amend the submitted mbox',
                               data=[('Patch', f) for f in not_removed])
 
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py
index 931b26768e..8bcea453c2 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py
@@ -28,5 +28,4 @@ class Summary(base.Metadata):
 
             # "${PN} version ${PN}-${PR}" is the default, so fail if default
             if summary.startswith('%s version' % pn):
-                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata,
-                          'Specify the variable %s in %s' % (self.metadata, pn))
+                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py
index 46ed9ef791..144e130707 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py
@@ -46,6 +46,5 @@ class CVE(base.Base):
                         tag_found = True
                         break
                 if not tag_found:
-                    self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in included patch file',
-                              'Correct or include the CVE tag on cve patch with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
-                              commit)
+                    self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in patch file. Correct or include the CVE tag in the patch with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
+                              commit=commit)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py
index 4855d6daf7..5892033af0 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py
@@ -39,5 +39,4 @@ class PatchSignedOffBy(base.Base):
                 if PatchSignedOffBy.prog.search_string(payload):
                     break
             else:
-                self.fail('A patch file has been added, but does not have a Signed-off-by tag',
-                          'Sign off the added patch file (%s)' % newpatch.path)
+                self.fail('A patch file has been added, but does not have a Signed-off-by tag. Sign off the added patch file (%s)' % newpatch.path)
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py
index eda5353c66..c21aeaf28f 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py
@@ -34,8 +34,7 @@ class PatchUpstreamStatus(base.Base):
         for newpatch in PatchUpstreamStatus.newpatches:
             payload = newpatch.__str__()
             if not self.upstream_status_regex.search_string(payload):
-                self.fail('Added patch file is missing Upstream-Status in the header',
-                          'Add Upstream-Status: <Valid status> to the header of %s' % newpatch.path,
+                self.fail('Added patch file is missing Upstream-Status in the header. Add Upstream-Status: <Valid status> to the header',
                           data=[('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
             for line in payload.splitlines():
                 if self.patchmetadata_regex.match(line):
@@ -46,19 +45,16 @@ class PatchUpstreamStatus(base.Base):
                                 parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_inappropriate_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
                             except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
                                 self.fail('Upstream-Status is Inappropriate, but no reason was provided',
-                                          'Include a brief reason why %s is inappropriate' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
                                           data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Inappropriate [reason]')])
                         elif parse_upstream_status.submitted_status_mark.searchString(line):
                             try:
                                 parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_submitted_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
                             except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
                                 self.fail('Upstream-Status is Submitted, but it is not mentioned where',
-                                          'Include where %s was submitted' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
                                           data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Submitted [where]')])
                         else:
                             try:
                                 parse_upstream_status.upstream_status.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
                             except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
                                 self.fail('Upstream-Status is in incorrect format',
-                                          'Fix Upstream-Status format in %s' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
                                           data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
index ea8efb7c2a..907bd9eef4 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
@@ -56,6 +56,5 @@ class PyLint(base.Base):
 
         for issue in self.pylint_test:
              if self.pylint_test[issue] not in self.pylint_pretest.values():
-                 self.fail('Errors in your Python code were encountered',
-                           'Correct the lines introduced by your patch',
+                 self.fail('Errors in your Python code were encountered. Please check your code with a linter and resubmit',
                            data=[('Output', 'Please, fix the listed issues:'), ('', issue + ' ' + self.pylint_test[issue])])