diff --git a/collects/scribble/manual.ss b/collects/scribble/manual.ss
index fc1be7c1..dcb1e001 100644
--- a/collects/scribble/manual.ss
+++ b/collects/scribble/manual.ss
@@ -303,7 +303,13 @@
            [s (element->string f)])
       (index* (list (substring s 1 (sub1 (string-length s)))) (list f) f)))
   (define (exec . str)
-    (make-element 'tt str))
+    (if (andmap string? str)
+        (make-element 'tt str)
+        (make-element #f (map (lambda (s)
+                                (if (string? s)
+                                    (make-element 'tt (list s))
+                                    s))
+                              str))))
   (define (Flag . str)
     (make-element 'no-break (list (make-element 'tt (cons "-" (decode-content str))))))
   (define (DFlag . str)