diff --git a/lisp/simple.el b/lisp/simple.el
index 6bc3bc5304..4bd29faabe 100644
--- a/lisp/simple.el
+++ b/lisp/simple.el
@@ -3330,7 +3330,8 @@ read-shell-command
       (lambda ()
         (shell-completion-vars)
 	(set (make-local-variable 'minibuffer-default-add-function)
-	     'minibuffer-default-add-shell-commands))
+	     'minibuffer-default-add-shell-commands)
+        (when (eq (char-before) ?+) (backward-char 5)))
     (apply 'read-from-minibuffer prompt initial-contents
 	   minibuffer-local-shell-command-map
 	   nil