diff --git a/t/lib-git-svn.sh b/t/lib-git-svn.sh
index 67c431d4eb..de384e6ac3 100644
--- a/t/lib-git-svn.sh
+++ b/t/lib-git-svn.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ git_svn_id=git""-svn-id
 
 if test -n "$NO_SVN_TESTS"
 then
-	test_expect_success 'skipping git svn tests, NO_SVN_TESTS defined' :
+	say 'skipping git svn tests, NO_SVN_TESTS defined'
 	test_done
 	exit
 fi
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ SVN_TREE=$GIT_SVN_DIR/svn-tree
 svn >/dev/null 2>&1
 if test $? -ne 1
 then
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git svn tests, svn not found' :
+    say 'skipping git svn tests, svn not found'
     test_done
     exit
 fi
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ then
 	else
 		err='Perl SVN libraries not found or unusable, skipping test'
 	fi
-	test_expect_success "$err" :
+	say "$err"
 	test_done
 	exit
 fi
diff --git a/t/t0024-crlf-archive.sh b/t/t0024-crlf-archive.sh
index e5330395fc..ae90d34f6c 100755
--- a/t/t0024-crlf-archive.sh
+++ b/t/t0024-crlf-archive.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ test_expect_success 'tar archive' '
 
 "$UNZIP" -v >/dev/null 2>&1
 if [ $? -eq 127 ]; then
-	echo "Skipping ZIP test, because unzip was not found"
+	say "Skipping ZIP test, because unzip was not found"
 	test_done
 	exit
 fi
diff --git a/t/t3600-rm.sh b/t/t3600-rm.sh
index 95542e9cfe..74ea8e09f8 100755
--- a/t/t3600-rm.sh
+++ b/t/t3600-rm.sh
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ test_expect_success \
     'test_must_fail git rm -f baz'
 chmod 775 .
 else
-    test_expect_success 'skipping removal failure (perhaps running as root?)' :
+    say 'skipping removal failure test (perhaps running as root?)'
 fi
 
 test_expect_success \
diff --git a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
index e1ed073f95..7a84ab61d0 100755
--- a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
+++ b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ test_expect_success 'git archive --format=zip with --output' \
 
 $UNZIP -v >/dev/null 2>&1
 if [ $? -eq 127 ]; then
-	echo "Skipping ZIP tests, because unzip was not found"
+	say "Skipping ZIP tests, because unzip was not found"
 	test_done
 	exit
 fi
diff --git a/t/t7004-tag.sh b/t/t7004-tag.sh
index 69501e2711..06e6e179f3 100755
--- a/t/t7004-tag.sh
+++ b/t/t7004-tag.sh
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ test_expect_success \
 # subsequent tests require gpg; check if it is available
 gpg --version >/dev/null
 if [ $? -eq 127 ]; then
-	echo "gpg not found - skipping tag signing and verification tests"
+	say "gpg not found - skipping tag signing and verification tests"
 	test_done
 	exit
 fi
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ test_expect_success \
 # that version, creation of signed tags using the generated key fails.
 case "$(gpg --version)" in
 'gpg (GnuPG) 1.0.6'*)
-	echo "Skipping signed tag tests, because a bug in 1.0.6 version"
+	say "Skipping signed tag tests, because a bug in 1.0.6 version"
 	test_done
 	exit
 	;;
diff --git a/t/t9200-git-cvsexportcommit.sh b/t/t9200-git-cvsexportcommit.sh
index 245a7c3662..d28b71b8cf 100755
--- a/t/t9200-git-cvsexportcommit.sh
+++ b/t/t9200-git-cvsexportcommit.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ test_description='Test export of commits to CVS'
 cvs >/dev/null 2>&1
 if test $? -ne 1
 then
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git cvsexportcommit tests, cvs not found' :
+    say 'skipping git cvsexportcommit tests, cvs not found'
     test_done
     exit
 fi
diff --git a/t/t9400-git-cvsserver-server.sh b/t/t9400-git-cvsserver-server.sh
index 9ccb1232bb..466240cd41 100755
--- a/t/t9400-git-cvsserver-server.sh
+++ b/t/t9400-git-cvsserver-server.sh
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ cvs CLI client via git-cvsserver server'
 cvs >/dev/null 2>&1
 if test $? -ne 1
 then
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, cvs not found' :
+    say 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, cvs not found'
     test_done
     exit
 fi
 perl -e 'use DBI; use DBD::SQLite' >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, Perl SQLite interface unavailable' :
+    say 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, Perl SQLite interface unavailable'
     test_done
     exit
 }
diff --git a/t/t9401-git-cvsserver-crlf.sh b/t/t9401-git-cvsserver-crlf.sh
index 5d6200c4df..8882230134 100755
--- a/t/t9401-git-cvsserver-crlf.sh
+++ b/t/t9401-git-cvsserver-crlf.sh
@@ -49,12 +49,12 @@ not_present() {
 cvs >/dev/null 2>&1
 if test $? -ne 1
 then
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, cvs not found' :
+    say 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, cvs not found'
     test_done
     exit
 fi
 perl -e 'use DBI; use DBD::SQLite' >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
-    test_expect_success 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, Perl SQLite interface unavailable' :
+    say 'skipping git-cvsserver tests, Perl SQLite interface unavailable'
     test_done
     exit
 }
diff --git a/t/t9500-gitweb-standalone-no-errors.sh b/t/t9500-gitweb-standalone-no-errors.sh
index 6ed10d0933..1b78e28c44 100755
--- a/t/t9500-gitweb-standalone-no-errors.sh
+++ b/t/t9500-gitweb-standalone-no-errors.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ safe_chmod () {
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 perl -MEncode -e 'decode_utf8("", Encode::FB_CROAK)' >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
-    test_expect_success 'skipping gitweb tests, perl version is too old' :
+    say 'skipping gitweb tests, perl version is too old'
     test_done
     exit
 }
diff --git a/t/t9700-perl-git.sh b/t/t9700-perl-git.sh
index b81d5dfc34..4a501c6847 100755
--- a/t/t9700-perl-git.sh
+++ b/t/t9700-perl-git.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ test_description='perl interface (Git.pm)'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 perl -MTest::More -e 0 2>/dev/null || {
-	say_color skip "Perl Test::More unavailable, skipping test"
+	say "Perl Test::More unavailable, skipping test"
 	test_done
 }