diff --git a/src/makealias b/src/makealias
index fca94d4..e2f31c6 100755
--- a/src/makealias
+++ b/src/makealias
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ while read name; do
 		hattr='__attribute((visibility("hidden")))'
 		echo "extern __typeof ($name) $alias $hattr;" >> $HEAD
 		echo "#define $name $alias" >> $HEAD
-		ifdef=$(grep -l '^'$name'[ (]' "$SRCDIR"/*.c | sed -n 1p | sed -e 's/^.*\/\([^.]*\)\.c/__\1__/')
+		ifdef=`grep -l '^'$name'[ (]' "$SRCDIR"/*.c | sed -n 1p | sed -e 's/^.*\/\([^.]*\)\.c/__\1__/'`
 		if [ -z "$ifdef" ] ; then
 			echo "error: could not locate $name in src/*.c" 1>&2
 			exit 1