Amen. Been writing small makefiles for many years, and only recently learned how to use pattern rules properly. They finally relieved my temptation to use eval.

Speaking of eval, I have one makefile tip I've learned the hard way: the example in the gnu make manual for eval doesn't run! It has an incorrect "=" (equals sign) in the define. I've racked my brain against that one for hours, twice, because a couple years later I'd forgotten about the first time I figured it out.