diff --git a/build-aux/syntax-check.mk b/build-aux/syntax-check.mk
index 5d956c183f..2058af0b77 100644
--- a/build-aux/syntax-check.mk
+++ b/build-aux/syntax-check.mk
@@ -108,8 +108,6 @@ local-check :=								\
 
 syntax-check: $(local-check)
 
-_test_script_regex = \<test-lib\.sh\>
-
 # Files that should never cause syntax check failures.
 VC_LIST_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE_REGEX = \
   (^(docs/(news(-[0-9]*)?\.html\.in|.*\.patch))|\.(po|fig|gif|ico|png))$$