diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3adc57f1a..ac08c12d2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ core-dev: generate
 # Shorthand for quickly testing the core of Terraform (i.e. "not providers")
 core-test: generate
 	@echo "Testing core packages..." && \
-		go test -tags `core` $(TESTARGS) $(shell go list ./... | grep -v -E `terraform/(builtin|vendor)`)
+		go test -tags 'core' $(TESTARGS) $(shell go list ./... | grep -v -E 'terraform/(builtin|vendor)')
 
 get-deps:
 	@echo "==> Fetching dependencies"