diff --git a/tlmisc/optcomplete/optcomplete.py b/tlmisc/optcomplete/optcomplete.py
index 9b2ff730c..1f5b66344 100644
--- a/tlmisc/optcomplete/optcomplete.py
+++ b/tlmisc/optcomplete/optcomplete.py
@@ -351,6 +351,15 @@ def autocomplete( parser,
                     raise SystemExit(
                         "Error: optparse option with a completer "
                         "does not take arguments: %s" % str(option))
+
+            # Prev starts with '-' but no corresponding option could be
+            # identified. This is likely due to squashed short opts as in -a -b
+            # -c -> -abc, in which case we don't try to complete since it's not
+            # unambiguous which option completer to use.
+            elif not option:
+                sys.exit(exit_code)
+
+
     except KeyError:
         pass