diff --git a/parser.cpp b/parser.cpp
index e0a79ea7b..1bc262ea6 100644
--- a/parser.cpp
+++ b/parser.cpp
@@ -2041,7 +2041,7 @@ int parser_t::parse_job(process_t *p,
                         free(cpy);
 
                     }
-                    else if (cmd[0]==L'$')
+                    else if (cmd[0]==L'$' || cmd[0] == VARIABLE_EXPAND || cmd[0] == VARIABLE_EXPAND_SINGLE)
                     {
 
                         const env_var_t val_wstr = env_get_string(cmd+1);