diff --git a/howdoi/howdoi.py b/howdoi/howdoi.py
index 03ed508e0..a7091ffb1 100755
--- a/howdoi/howdoi.py
+++ b/howdoi/howdoi.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def howdoi(args):
 
 def command_line_runner():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='code search tool')
-    parser.add_argument('query', metavar='QUERY', type=str, nargs='+',
+    parser.add_argument('query', metavar='QUERY', type=str, nargs=argparse.REMAINDER,
                         help='the question to answer')
     parser.add_argument('-p','--pos', help='select answer in specified position (default: 1)', default=1)
     parser.add_argument('-a','--all', help='display the full text of the answer',