diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops.cc b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
index cd9a05bb2..0d503ae26 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
@@ -2991,7 +2991,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_tail({
     .name = "__tail",
     .args = {"list"},
     .doc = R"(
-      Return the second to last elements of a list; abort evaluation if
+      Return the list without its first item; abort evaluation if
       the argument isn’t a list or is an empty list.
 
       > **Warning**