So solutions to common problems become easy to communicate. Patterns are a programmers version of Aesop's fables. But this can be a problem, because C environments appropriate prefix underscore names for themselves. So such names may lead to linking problems and mysterious interactions with C libraries. In other forms of description, one often finds a tendency to sweep disadvantages under the rug, and focus on the advantages.
Good patterns tend to be specific, concise, and concrete.
This discourages premature abstraction. In software, unlimited abstraction is possible, so finding the optimum is difficult. The trick is to make the right distinctions between similiar ideas. The patterns community created a forum where short and sweet ideas can be discussed intelligently. Simple patterns like Facade, Singleton, Converter, etc. are not individually monumental.