Why does it bother me so much? Am I that much of a pedant? Maybe so. But, please, people, learn how to pronounce “patronize.” If you want someone to know that you feel you’re superior to him, go ahead and pat (rhymes with “fat”) ronize him. If you’re going to buy something from his shop, you can pat (rhymes with “hate”) ronize the place. In other words, pat (hate) ronize (and buy something at) a person’s funky little backyard art show and, when thinking that your pet poodle could do better by painting with his tail, you can pat (fat) ronize the artist with something like, “Oh, how quaint your work is.”
There. I got it out of my system. I hope.