$@
: target, since it looks like a target.$<
: the 1st prereq, since <
points to the left.$^
: all prereqs, since ^
looks like an "upward grouping flower bracket".$?
: prereqs that are newer than the target, since ?
is stuff you don't know / haven't looked at.$*
: target with suffix deleted, since we generally grep for *.c|h|
, we want the *
part of $@
.Alternatively, *
is also like a target, but only the bull's eye with the extra stuff like the suffixstripped out.