diff --git a/apatch b/apatch
index f87e96d..c77a124 100755
--- a/apatch
+++ b/apatch
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ fi
   # if file exists, try to apply
   if [ -e "$patchpath" ]; then
     git apply --reject --whitespace=fix "$patchpath" || {
-      rejects="$(git status --porcelain | grep '\?\? .*\.rej$' | cut -c4-)"
+      rejects="$(git status --porcelain | grep -F '??' | grep -F '.rej' | cut -c4-)"
       if [ -n "$rejects" ]; then
         warning "$1 partially applied with rejects"
         for reject in $rejects; do