diff --git a/source/memory.tex b/source/memory.tex
index f5011fada3..3a005667b7 100644
--- a/source/memory.tex
+++ b/source/memory.tex
@@ -5176,6 +5176,8 @@
 Then, equivalent to:
 \begin{itemize}
 \item
+% pretend to \item that there is real text here, but undo the vertical spacing
+\mbox{}\vspace{-\baselineskip}\vspace{-\parskip}
 \begin{codeblock}
 s.reset();
 \end{codeblock}