diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7dae58dfe..4b2c1c712 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@ include(FeatureSummary)
 option(DFSG_BUILD "DFSG build (no non-free media/code)" OFF)
 option(USE_ASAN "Build with AddressSanitizer" OFF)
 option(USE_COVERAGE "Assess code coverage with llvm-cov/lcov" OFF)
-option(USE_CPP "Build C++ code" ON)
+option(USE_CXX "Build C++ code" ON)
 cmake_dependent_option(
   USE_DOCTEST "Build notcurses-tester with doctest" ON
-  "BUILD_TESTING;USE_CPP" OFF
+  "BUILD_TESTING;USE_CXX" OFF
 )
 option(USE_DEFLATE "Use libdeflate instead of libz" ON)
 option(USE_DOXYGEN "Build HTML cross reference with doxygen" OFF)
@@ -39,18 +39,18 @@ set(USE_OIIO OFF)
 if(${USE_MULTIMEDIA} STREQUAL "ffmpeg")
   set(USE_FFMPEG ON)
 elseif(${USE_MULTIMEDIA} STREQUAL "oiio")
-  if(NOT ${USE_CPP})
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "USE_CPP must be on to use OpenImageIO.")
+  if(NOT ${USE_CXX})
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "USE_CXX must be on to use OpenImageIO.")
   endif()
   set(USE_OIIO ON)
 elseif(NOT ${USE_MULTIMEDIA} STREQUAL "none")
   message(FATAL_ERROR "USE_MULTIMEDIA must be one of 'oiio', 'ffmpeg', 'none' (was '${USE_MULTIMEDIA}').")
 endif()
 
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
   enable_language(CXX)
 endif()
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_VISIBILITY_PRESET hidden)
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ if(${USE_COVERAGE})
   endif()
   # FIXME requires clang11+
   string(APPEND CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG " --coverage -fprofile-instr-generate -fcoverage-mapping")
-  if(${USE_CPP})
+  if(${USE_CXX})
     if(NOT "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID}" MATCHES "(Apple)?[Cc]lang")
       message(FATAL_ERROR "USE_COVERAGE was on but CXX isn't clang++")
     endif()
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ target_link_directories(notcurses-static PRIVATE ${OIIO_STATIC_LIBRARY_DIRS})
 endif()
 
 ############################################################################
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 # libnotcurses++ (C++ wrappers)
 set(NCPP_SOURCES
   src/libcpp/FDPlane.cc
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ foreach(f ${POCSRCS})
     PRIVATE "${TERMINFO_LIBRARY_DIRS}"
   )
 endforeach()
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
   file(GLOB POCPPSRCS CONFIGURE_DEPENDS src/pocpp/*.cpp)
   foreach(f ${POCPPSRCS})
     get_filename_component(fe "${f}" NAME_WE)
@@ -603,7 +603,7 @@ target_link_libraries(notcurses-info
 
 ############################################################################
 # notcurses-input
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 file(GLOB INPUTSRCS CONFIGURE_DEPENDS src/input/input.cpp)
 add_executable(notcurses-input ${INPUTSRCS})
 target_include_directories(notcurses-input
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ file(GLOB MANSOURCE1 CONFIGURE_DEPENDS doc/man/man1/*.md)
 file(GLOB MANSOURCE3 CONFIGURE_DEPENDS doc/man/man3/*.md)
 
 # all further binaries require multimedia and C++ support
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 if(${USE_MULTIMEDIA} STREQUAL "none")
   list(FILTER MANSOURCE1 EXCLUDE REGEX "ncls.1.md")
   list(FILTER MANSOURCE1 EXCLUDE REGEX "ncplayer.1.md")
@@ -731,7 +731,7 @@ endif()
 ############################################################################
 # testing
 if(${BUILD_TESTING})
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 #set(CMAKE_CTEST_ARGUMENTS "-V")
 if(${USE_DOCTEST})
 file(GLOB TESTSRCS CONFIGURE_DEPENDS src/tests/*.cpp src/compat/*.c)
@@ -772,7 +772,7 @@ add_test(
   NAME notcurses-info
   COMMAND notcurses-info
 )
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 add_test(
   NAME ncpp_build
   COMMAND ncpp_build
@@ -990,7 +990,7 @@ install(TARGETS ncneofetch DESTINATION bin)
 if(NOT WIN32)
 install(TARGETS ncman DESTINATION bin)
 endif()
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 install(TARGETS notcurses-input DESTINATION bin)
 install(TARGETS nctetris DESTINATION bin)
 if(NOT ${USE_MULTIMEDIA} STREQUAL "none")
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@ LIST(APPEND INSTLIBS notcurses-core notcurses)
 if(${USE_STATIC})
 LIST(APPEND INSTLIBS notcurses-core-static notcurses-static)
 endif()
-if(${USE_CPP})
+if(${USE_CXX})
 LIST(APPEND INSTLIBS notcurses++)
 if(${USE_STATIC})
 LIST(APPEND INSTLIBS notcurses++-static)
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index c53dab851..652073479 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -120,19 +120,19 @@ To set the C compiler, export `CC`. To set the C++ compiler, export `CXX`. The
 `CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE` CMake variable can be defined to any of its standard values,
 but must be `Debug` for use of `USE_COVERAGE`.
 
-* `DFSG_BUILD`: leave out all content considered non-free under the Debian Free
-                Software Guidelines
-* `BUILD_TESTING`: build test targets
-* `USE_ASAN`: build with AddressSanitizer
-* `USE_CPP`: build C++ code (requires a C++ compiler)
-* `USE_COVERAGE`: build coverage support (for developers, requires use of Clang)
-* `USE_DOCTEST`: build `notcurses-tester` with Doctest, requires `BUILD_TESTING`
-  * `USE_DOCTEST=on` requires `USE_CPP=off`
-* `USE_DOXYGEN`: build interlinked HTML documentation with Doxygen
-* `USE_GPM`: build GPM console mouse support via libgpm
-* `USE_MULTIMEDIA`: `ffmpeg` for FFmpeg, `oiio` for OpenImageIO, `none` for none
-  * `oiio` cannot be used with `USE_CPP=off`
-* `USE_PANDOC`: build man pages with pandoc
-* `USE_POC`: build small, uninstalled proof-of-concept binaries
-* `USE_QRCODEGEN`: build qrcode support via libqrcodegen
-* `USE_STATIC`: build static libraries (in addition to shared ones)
+* `DFSG_BUILD=off`: leave out all content considered non-free under the Debian Free
+                    Software Guidelines
+* `BUILD_TESTING=on`: build test targets
+* `USE_ASAN=off`: build with AddressSanitizer
+* `USE_CXX=on`: build C++ code (requires a C++ compiler)
+* `USE_COVERAGE=off`: build coverage support (for developers, requires use of Clang)
+* `USE_DOCTEST=on`: build `notcurses-tester` with Doctest, requires `BUILD_TESTING`
+  * `USE_DOCTEST=on` requires `USE_CXX=on`
+* `USE_DOXYGEN=off`: build interlinked HTML documentation with Doxygen
+* `USE_GPM=off`: build GPM console mouse support via libgpm
+* `USE_MULTIMEDIA=ffmpeg`: `ffmpeg` for FFmpeg, `oiio` for OpenImageIO, `none` for none
+  * `oiio` cannot be used with `USE_CXX=off`
+* `USE_PANDOC=on`: build man pages with pandoc
+* `USE_POC=on`: build small, uninstalled proof-of-concept binaries
+* `USE_QRCODEGEN=off`: build qrcode support via libqrcodegen
+* `USE_STATIC=on`: build static libraries (in addition to shared ones)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5a43f5a22..ba610f5ff 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ If things break or seem otherwise lackluster, **please** consult the
   wrappers, nor can you build with the OpenImageIO multimedia backend (OIIO
   ships C++ headers). You'll be able to build the main library, though, as
   well as <code>notcurses-demo</code> (and maybe a few other binaries).
+  Use <code>-DUSE_CXX=off</code>.
 </details>
 
 <details>