diff --git a/src/list.c b/src/list.c
index 8e9caf5c..14050cfb 100644
--- a/src/list.c
+++ b/src/list.c
@@ -120,8 +120,16 @@ enforce_one_top_level (char **pfile_name)
   char *file_name = *pfile_name;
   char *p;
 
-  for (p = file_name; *p && (ISSLASH (*p) || *p == '.'); p++)
-    ;
+  for (p = file_name; ; p++)
+    {
+      bool dot = p[0] == '.';
+      if (!ISSLASH (p[dot]))
+	{
+	  p += dot & !p[dot];
+	  break;
+	}
+      p += dot;
+    }
 
   if (*p)
     {