diff --git a/miscutils/mt.c b/miscutils/mt.c
index 087819e72..e77f58a6a 100644
--- a/miscutils/mt.c
+++ b/miscutils/mt.c
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ extern int mt_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	struct mtop op;
 	int fd;
 	
-	if ((argc != 2 && argc != 3) && **(argv + 1) != '-') {
+	if (argc < 2) {
 		usage(mt_usage);
 	}
 
diff --git a/mt.c b/mt.c
index 087819e72..e77f58a6a 100644
--- a/mt.c
+++ b/mt.c
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ extern int mt_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	struct mtop op;
 	int fd;
 	
-	if ((argc != 2 && argc != 3) && **(argv + 1) != '-') {
+	if (argc < 2) {
 		usage(mt_usage);
 	}