diff --git a/parse-options.c b/parse-options.c
index 817416db99..87c9fae634 100644
--- a/parse-options.c
+++ b/parse-options.c
@@ -1146,7 +1146,9 @@ static enum parse_opt_result usage_with_options_internal(struct parse_opt_ctx_t
 		    !(opts->flags & PARSE_OPT_NOARG))
 			pos += usage_argh(opts, outfile);
 
-		if (pos <= USAGE_OPTS_WIDTH)
+		if (pos == USAGE_OPTS_WIDTH + 1)
+			pad = -1;
+		else if (pos <= USAGE_OPTS_WIDTH)
 			pad = USAGE_OPTS_WIDTH - pos;
 		else {
 			fputc('\n', outfile);
diff --git a/t/t0040-parse-options.sh b/t/t0040-parse-options.sh
index 83e5d4eeb6..e19a199636 100755
--- a/t/t0040-parse-options.sh
+++ b/t/t0040-parse-options.sh
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ usage: test-tool parse-options <options>
     -F, --file <file>     set file to <file>
 
 String options
-    -s, --string <string>
-                          get a string
+    -s, --string <string> get a string
     --string2 <str>       get another string
     --st <st>             get another string (pervert ordering)
     -o <str>              get another string