diff --git a/src/hb-buffer.cc b/src/hb-buffer.cc
index 942177cbd..b9fe263ce 100644
--- a/src/hb-buffer.cc
+++ b/src/hb-buffer.cc
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ hb_buffer_t::reverse_range (unsigned int start,
 {
   unsigned int i, j;
 
-  if (start == end - 1)
+  if (end - start < 2)
     return;
 
   for (i = start, j = end - 1; i < j; i++, j--) {