diff --git a/revision.c b/revision.c
index d67718c75b..d7678cfab4 100644
--- a/revision.c
+++ b/revision.c
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ int setup_revisions(int argc, const char **argv, struct rev_info *revs, const ch
 				revs->remove_empty_trees = 1;
 				continue;
 			}
-			if (!strncmp(arg, "--no-merges", 11)) {
+			if (!strcmp(arg, "--no-merges")) {
 				revs->no_merges = 1;
 				continue;
 			}