diff --git a/make/topdir.mk b/make/topdir.mk
index 0736c114..2168e67c 100644
--- a/make/topdir.mk
+++ b/make/topdir.mk
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 local-%:
 	find . -name $@.mk | \
-		while read f; do \
-			cd $(dir $$f) ;\
+		while read f; do (\
+			cd `dirname $$f` ;\
 			rm -f local.mk ;\
-			ln -s $(notdir $$f local.mk) ;\
-		done
+			ln -s `basename $$f` local.mk ;\
+		) done
 
 unlocal:
 	rm -f $(shell find . -name local.mk)