diff --git a/lisp/dired.el b/lisp/dired.el
index 782d8ffa515..9e09d349f7c 100644
--- a/lisp/dired.el
+++ b/lisp/dired.el
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ May contain all other options that don't contradict `-l';
 may contain even `F', `b', `i' and `s'.  See also the variable
 `dired-ls-F-marks-symlinks' concerning the `F' switch.
 Options that include embedded whitespace must be quoted
-like this: \\\"--option=value with spaces\\\"; you can use
+like this: \"--option=value with spaces\"; you can use
 `combine-and-quote-strings' to produce the correct quoting of
 each option.
 On systems such as MS-DOS and MS-Windows, which use `ls' emulation in Lisp,