diff --git a/acinclude.m4 b/acinclude.m4
index fd200b559d..e853202e45 100644
--- a/acinclude.m4
+++ b/acinclude.m4
@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ TOR_DEFINE_CODEPATH($tor_cv_library_$1_dir, $1)
 if test -z "$CROSS_COMPILE"; then
   AC_CACHE_CHECK([whether we need extra options to link $1],
                  tor_cv_library_$1_linker_option, [
-   tor_saved_LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS"
    runs=no
    linked_with=nothing
    if test -d "$tor_cv_library_$1_dir/lib"; then