diff --git a/t/diff-lib.sh b/t/diff-lib.sh
index 75a35fcd06..c211dc40ee 100644
--- a/t/diff-lib.sh
+++ b/t/diff-lib.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 :
 
-sanitize_diff_raw='/^:/s/ '"$_x40"' '"$_x40"' \([A-Z]\)[0-9]*	/ X X \1#	/'
+sanitize_diff_raw='/^:/s/ '"\($_x40\)"' '"\($_x40\)"' \([A-Z]\)[0-9]*	/ \1 \2 \3#	/'
 compare_diff_raw () {
     # When heuristics are improved, the score numbers would change.
     # Ignore them while comparing.