diff --git a/tools/clean-target.sh b/tools/clean-target.sh
index 09e3f39b22d653f96bc7d38f59c8fd62aa39972e..6e5b074a77be0679c50e3bc5c55663fa94a8e31b 100755
--- a/tools/clean-target.sh
+++ b/tools/clean-target.sh
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ CORE='-o -name "*.core"'
 if [ -n "$KEEP" ]; then
     case $KEEP in
       lib) GREP='grep -v \(gray-streams\|gray-compat\|simple-streams\|iodefs\|external-formats\|clx\|hemlock\|clm\)-library' ;;
-      core) CORE='"' ;;
+      core) CORE='' ;;
       all) GREP='grep -v \(gray-streams\|gray-compat\|simple-streams\|iodefs\|external-formats\|clx\|hemlock\|clm\)-library'
 	   CORE='' ;;
     esac