diff --git a/bin/git-delete-merged-branches b/bin/git-delete-merged-branches
index f5c4f773..c883441c 100755
--- a/bin/git-delete-merged-branches
+++ b/bin/git-delete-merged-branches
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-branches=$(git branch --no-color --merged | grep -vE "^(\*|\+)" | grep -v "$(git_extra_default_branch)" | grep -v svn)
+branches=$(git branch --no-color --merged |
+    grep -vE "^(\*|\+)" |
+    grep -v "$(git_extra_default_branch)" |
+    grep -v svn \
+)
+# REFACTOR: use `xargs -r` when widely available
 if [ -n "$branches" ]
 then
-    echo "$branches" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d
+    echo "$branches" | xargs git branch -d
 fi