diff --git a/examples/c/bistromathic/bistromathic.test b/examples/c/bistromathic/bistromathic.test
index d33b4e8f..0f0b7898 100755
--- a/examples/c/bistromathic/bistromathic.test
+++ b/examples/c/bistromathic/bistromathic.test
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ if diff perfect effective >/dev/null 2>&1; then
 elif diff ok effective >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     strip_prompt=true
 else
-    echo "SKIP: this is not the GNU Readline we expect"
-    exit 77
+    skip "this is not the GNU Readline we expect"
 fi
 
 
diff --git a/examples/c/reccalc/reccalc.test b/examples/c/reccalc/reccalc.test
index 27716a24..124de6bc 100644
--- a/examples/c/reccalc/reccalc.test
+++ b/examples/c/reccalc/reccalc.test
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-(seq 0) >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 77
+(seq 0) >/dev/null 2>&1 || skip "gimme one seq"
 
 cat >input <<EOF
 1+2*3
diff --git a/examples/test b/examples/test
index 02e59b3f..3bf6edd4 100755
--- a/examples/test
+++ b/examples/test
@@ -68,6 +68,20 @@ trap cleanup 0 1 2 13 15
 mkdir $$.dir
 cd $$.dir
 
+
+# skip [MSG]
+# ----------
+# Skip this test.
+skip ()
+{
+  if test x"$1" != x; then
+    echo "SKIP: $1"
+  fi
+  # See Autoconf's doc on 'trap'.
+  (exit 77); exit 77
+}
+
+
 # run [-noerr, -n] EXPECTED-EXIT-STATUS EXPECTED-OUTPUT [PARSER-OPTIONS]
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # -noerr: ignore stderr, otherwise merge it into effective output.