diff --git a/plugins/degesch/ping-timeout.lua b/plugins/degesch/ping-timeout.lua
index 72a754f..12a5221 100644
--- a/plugins/degesch/ping-timeout.lua
+++ b/plugins/degesch/ping-timeout.lua
@@ -29,5 +29,5 @@ degesch.hook_irc (function (hook, server, line)
 	end
 
 	local seconds = timeout % 60
-	return string.format ("%s %d minutes, %d seconds", start, minutes, seconds)
+	return ("%s %d minutes, %d seconds"):format (start, minutes, seconds)
 end)