diff -Naur make-3.82-orig/main.c make-3.82-fix30723//main.c
--- make-3.82-orig/main.c	2010-07-19 17:10:53.000000000 +1000
+++ make-3.82-fix30723//main.c	2010-09-23 23:34:10.932188592 +1000
@@ -2093,7 +2093,7 @@
             const char *pv = define_makeflags (1, 1);
             char *p = alloca (sizeof ("MAKEFLAGS=") + strlen (pv) + 1);
             sprintf (p, "MAKEFLAGS=%s", pv);
-            putenv (p);
+            putenv (allocated_variable_expand (p));
           }
 
 	  if (ISDB (DB_BASIC))
