diff --git a/tests/t1800-del.sh b/tests/t1800-del.sh
index c9fc744..6d96e89 100755
--- a/tests/t1800-del.sh
+++ b/tests/t1800-del.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ test_description='basic del functionality
 '
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+SPACE=' '
+
 test_todo_session 'del usage' <<EOF
 >>> todo.sh del B
 usage: todo.sh del ITEM# [TERM]
@@ -44,6 +46,50 @@ TODO: 1 deleted.
 TODO: 2 of 2 tasks shown
 EOF
 
+cat > todo.txt <<EOF
+(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+(A) notice the sunflowers
+stop
+EOF
+test_todo_session 'del with confirmation' <<EOF
+>>> todo.sh -p list
+2 (A) notice the sunflowers
+1 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+3 stop
+--
+TODO: 3 of 3 tasks shown
+
+>>> printf n | todo.sh del 1
+Delete '(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside'? (y/n)$SPACE
+TODO: No tasks were deleted.
+
+>>> todo.sh -p list
+2 (A) notice the sunflowers
+1 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+3 stop
+--
+TODO: 3 of 3 tasks shown
+
+>>> printf x | todo.sh del 1
+Delete '(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside'? (y/n)$SPACE
+TODO: No tasks were deleted.
+
+>>> echo | todo.sh del 1
+Delete '(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside'? (y/n)$SPACE
+TODO: No tasks were deleted.
+
+>>> printf y | todo.sh del 1
+Delete '(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside'? (y/n)$SPACE
+1 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+TODO: 1 deleted.
+
+>>> todo.sh -p list
+2 (A) notice the sunflowers
+3 stop
+--
+TODO: 2 of 2 tasks shown
+EOF
+
 cat > todo.txt <<EOF
 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
 (A) notice the sunflowers
diff --git a/tests/t1850-move.sh b/tests/t1850-move.sh
index e9061d5..86f57f1 100755
--- a/tests/t1850-move.sh
+++ b/tests/t1850-move.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ test_description='basic move functionality
 '
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+SPACE=' '
+
 cat > todo.txt <<EOF
 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
 (A) notice the sunflowers
@@ -31,6 +33,33 @@ TODO: 1 of 1 tasks shown
 DONE: 3 of 3 tasks shown
 EOF
 
+cat > todo.txt <<EOF
+(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+(A) notice the sunflowers
+EOF
+cat > done.txt <<EOF
+x 2009-02-13 make the coffee +wakeup
+x 2009-02-13 smell the coffee +wakeup
+EOF
+test_todo_session 'basic move with confirmation' <<EOF
+>>> printf y | todo.sh move 1 done.txt 2>&1 | sed -e "s#'[^']\{1,\}/\([^/']\{1,\}\)'#'\1'#g" -e 's#from .\{1,\}/\([^/]\{1,\}\) to .\{1,\}/\([^/]\{1,\}\)?#from \1 to \2?#g'
+Move '(B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside' from todo.txt to done.txt? (y/n)$SPACE
+1 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+TODO: 1 moved from 'todo.txt' to 'done.txt'.
+
+>>> todo.sh -p ls
+2 (A) notice the sunflowers
+--
+TODO: 1 of 1 tasks shown
+
+>>> todo.sh -p listfile done.txt
+3 (B) smell the uppercase Roses +flowers @outside
+1 x 2009-02-13 make the coffee +wakeup
+2 x 2009-02-13 smell the coffee +wakeup
+--
+DONE: 3 of 3 tasks shown
+EOF
+
 test_todo_session 'basic move with passed source' <<EOF
 >>> todo.sh -f move 2 todo.txt done.txt | sed "s#'[^']\{1,\}/\([^/']\{1,\}\)'#'\1'#g"
 2 x 2009-02-13 smell the coffee +wakeup
diff --git a/todo.sh b/todo.sh
index 5348200..2e1dca8 100755
--- a/todo.sh
+++ b/todo.sh
@@ -362,6 +362,20 @@ die()
     exit 1
 }
 
+confirm()
+{
+    [ $TODOTXT_FORCE = 0 ] || return 0
+
+    printf %s "${1:?}? (y/n) "
+    local readArgs=(-e -r)
+    [ -n "${BASH_VERSINFO:-}" ] && [ \( ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -eq 4 -a ${BASH_VERSINFO[1]} -ge 1 \) -o ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -gt 4 ] &&
+        readArgs+=(-N 1)    # Bash 4.1+ supports -N nchars
+    local answer
+    read "${readArgs[@]}" answer
+    echo
+    [ "$answer" = "y" ]
+}
+
 cleaninput()
 {
     # Parameters:    When $1 = "for sed", performs additional escaping for use
@@ -1146,13 +1160,7 @@ case $action in
     getTodo "$item"
 
     if [ -z "$3" ]; then
-        if  [ $TODOTXT_FORCE = 0 ]; then
-            echo "Delete '$todo'?  (y/n)"
-            read -e -r ANSWER
-        else
-            ANSWER="y"
-        fi
-        if [ "$ANSWER" = "y" ]; then
+        if confirm "Delete '$todo'"; then
             if [ $TODOTXT_PRESERVE_LINE_NUMBERS = 0 ]; then
                 # delete line (changes line numbers)
                 sed -i.bak -e "${item}s/^.*//" -e '/./!d' "$TODO_FILE"
@@ -1342,13 +1350,7 @@ case $action in
 
     getTodo "$item" "$src"
     [ -z "$todo" ] && die "$item: No such item in $src."
-    if  [ $TODOTXT_FORCE = 0 ]; then
-        echo "Move '$todo' from $src to $dest? (y/n)"
-        read -e -r ANSWER
-    else
-        ANSWER="y"
-    fi
-    if [ "$ANSWER" = "y" ]; then
+    if confirm "Move '$todo' from $src to $dest"; then
         if [ $TODOTXT_PRESERVE_LINE_NUMBERS = 0 ]; then
             # delete line (changes line numbers)
             sed -i.bak -e "${item}s/^.*//" -e '/./!d' "$src"