diff --git a/lib/runnable.js b/lib/runnable.js
index c7d210d5b2..7ccb4e3ffc 100644
--- a/lib/runnable.js
+++ b/lib/runnable.js
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ Runnable.prototype.timeout = function(ms) {
   if (!arguments.length) {
     return this._timeout;
   }
-  if (ms === 0) {
+  // see #1652 for reasoning
+  if (ms === 0 || ms > Math.pow(2, 31)) {
     this._enableTimeouts = false;
   }
   if (typeof ms === 'string') {
diff --git a/test/runnable.js b/test/runnable.js
index a3d88adda2..ba1ea48f55 100644
--- a/test/runnable.js
+++ b/test/runnable.js
@@ -41,6 +41,13 @@ describe('Runnable(title, fn)', function(){
     })
   })
 
+  describe('#timeout(ms) when ms>2^31', function(){
+    it('should throw an error', function () {
+      var run = new Runnable;
+      run.timeout.bind(run, 1e10).should.throw(/Timeout too large/);
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('#enableTimeouts(enabled)', function(){
     it('should set enabled', function(){
       var run = new Runnable;