diff --git a/smoke/venv.sh b/smoke/venv.sh
index c7e7d20..39d7186 100755
--- a/smoke/venv.sh
+++ b/smoke/venv.sh
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ source venv/bin/activate
 set -u
 
 # run python in it
-python -c 'import sys; print(sys.version)' | head -n1 | grep $VERSION
+python -c 'import sys; print(sys.version)' | head -n1 | grep ${VERSION/t}
 
 # install packages with pip
 python -m pip install pytest
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ EOF
 
 # Tests that the Python version used in tox is really the Python version we want
 tox | tee toxlog
-grep "^$VERSION\.[0-9]" toxlog
+grep "^${VERSION/t}\.[0-9]" toxlog
 
 echo '[tox]' > tox.ini
 if [ -n "$TOX_REQUIRES" ]; then