diff --git a/doc/lispref/lists.texi b/doc/lispref/lists.texi
index 816af4a4ff7..19c4614ebad 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/lists.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/lists.texi
@@ -670,6 +670,7 @@ This once was the usual way to copy a list, before the function
 
 @cindex list of characters of a string
 @cindex convert string to list of its characters
+@findex string-to-list
   Here's how to convert a string into a list of its characters:
 
 @example
@@ -679,6 +680,9 @@ This once was the usual way to copy a list, before the function
 @end group
 @end example
 
+@noindent
+The function @code{string-to-list} is a handy shortcut for the above.
+
   With the help of @code{apply} (@pxref{Calling Functions}), we can append
 all the lists in a list of lists:
 
@@ -717,7 +721,7 @@ any other non-list final argument.
 
   As an exception, if all the arguments but the last are @code{nil} and
 the last argument is not a list, the return value is that last argument
-unchanged:
+unchanged (i.e., in this case the return value is not a list):
 
 @example
 @group
diff --git a/src/fns.c b/src/fns.c
index 33079cf926a..e196d5419cb 100644
--- a/src/fns.c
+++ b/src/fns.c
@@ -724,7 +724,7 @@ a list, this results in a dotted list.
 
 As an exception, if all the arguments except the last are nil, and the
 last argument is not a list, the return value is that last argument
-unaltered.
+unaltered, not a list.
 
 usage: (append &rest SEQUENCES)  */)
   (ptrdiff_t nargs, Lisp_Object *args)