diff --git a/src/hb-common.cc b/src/hb-common.cc
index 2f9b3b853..5c4a2c76f 100644
--- a/src/hb-common.cc
+++ b/src/hb-common.cc
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ hb_tag_from_string (const char *str, int len)
   for (; i < 4; i++)
     tag[i] = ' ';
 
-  return HB_TAG_CHAR4 (tag);
+  return HB_TAG (tag[0], tag[1], tag[2], tag[3]);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/hb-ot-tag.cc b/src/hb-ot-tag.cc
index dbec68c74..0514c41a3 100644
--- a/src/hb-ot-tag.cc
+++ b/src/hb-ot-tag.cc
@@ -925,7 +925,7 @@ hb_ot_tag_from_language (hb_language_t language)
     if (i) {
       for (; i < 4; i++)
 	tag[i] = ' ';
-      return HB_TAG_CHAR4 (tag);
+      return HB_TAG (tag[0], tag[1], tag[2], tag[3]);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/hb-private.hh b/src/hb-private.hh
index 6d54eef56..9acc0e79a 100644
--- a/src/hb-private.hh
+++ b/src/hb-private.hh
@@ -646,11 +646,6 @@ static inline unsigned char TOUPPER (unsigned char c)
 static inline unsigned char TOLOWER (unsigned char c)
 { return (c >= 'A' && c <= 'Z') ? c - 'A' + 'a' : c; }
 
-#define HB_TAG_CHAR4(s)   (HB_TAG(((const char *) s)[0], \
-				  ((const char *) s)[1], \
-				  ((const char *) s)[2], \
-				  ((const char *) s)[3]))
-
 
 /* C++ helpers */