diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index da0cd812..83b94259 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT; NOT RELEASED YET.
 
 * Issue #15: Fix atf_utils_{fork,wait} to support nested calls.
 
+* Issue #16: Fixed test failures (by removing a long-standing hack) on
+  systems that lack \e support in printf(1).
+
 * Issue #19: Removed stale references to atf-config and atf-run.
 
 
diff --git a/atf-sh/atf-check_test.sh b/atf-sh/atf-check_test.sh
index 7319a2b8..d66d12e4 100644
--- a/atf-sh/atf-check_test.sh
+++ b/atf-sh/atf-check_test.sh
@@ -211,16 +211,7 @@ oflag_inline_body()
     h_pass "echo foo bar" -o inline:"foo bar\n"
     h_pass "printf 'foo bar'" -o inline:"foo bar"
     h_pass "printf '\t\n\t\n'" -o inline:"\t\n\t\n"
-    # XXX Ugly hack to workaround the lack of \e in FreeBSD.  Also, \e doesn't
-    # seem to work as expected in Linux.  Look for a nicer solution.
-    case $(uname) in
-    Darwin|FreeBSD|Linux)
-        h_pass "printf '\a\b\f\n\r\t\v'" -o inline:"\a\b\f\n\r\t\v"
-        ;;
-    *)
-        h_pass "printf '\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v'" -o inline:"\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v"
-        ;;
-    esac
+    h_pass "printf '\a\b\033\f\n\r\t\v'" -o inline:"\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v"
     h_pass "printf '\011\022\033\012'" -o inline:"\011\022\033\012"
 
     h_fail "echo foo bar" -o inline:"foo bar"
@@ -331,16 +322,7 @@ eflag_inline_body()
     h_pass "echo foo bar 1>&2" -e inline:"foo bar\n"
     h_pass "printf 'foo bar' 1>&2" -e inline:"foo bar"
     h_pass "printf '\t\n\t\n' 1>&2" -e inline:"\t\n\t\n"
-    # XXX Ugly hack to workaround the lack of \e in FreeBSD.  Also, \e doesn't
-    # seem to work as expected in Linux.  Look for a nicer solution.
-    case $(uname) in
-    Darwin|FreeBSD|Linux)
-        h_pass "printf '\a\b\f\n\r\t\v' 1>&2" -e inline:"\a\b\f\n\r\t\v"
-        ;;
-    *)
-        h_pass "printf '\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v' 1>&2" -e inline:"\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v"
-        ;;
-    esac
+    h_pass "printf '\a\b\033\f\n\r\t\v' 1>&2" -e inline:"\a\b\e\f\n\r\t\v"
     h_pass "printf '\011\022\033\012' 1>&2" -e inline:"\011\022\033\012"
 
     h_fail "echo foo bar 1>&2" -e inline:"foo bar"