diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 7f4543c582..12f2877d20 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -750,7 +750,7 @@ mmi="default"
 bigendian="no"
 
 # OS
-targetos=`tolower \` uname -s\` `
+targetos=$(tolower $(uname -s))
 beos_netserver="no"
 os2="no"
 wince="no"