diff --git a/src/frontend/com_measure2.c b/src/frontend/com_measure2.c
index 5346cf7c9..936f5420a 100644
--- a/src/frontend/com_measure2.c
+++ b/src/frontend/com_measure2.c
@@ -1169,7 +1169,7 @@ measure_parse_stdParams(
                 wl = wl->wl_next;
                 continue;
             } else {
-                sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax of ??\n");
+                sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax. equal sign missing ?\n");
                 return 0;
             }
         }
@@ -1179,7 +1179,7 @@ measure_parse_stdParams(
         }
         else {
             if (ft_numparse(&pValue, FALSE, &engVal1) < 0) {
-                sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax of ??\n");
+                sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax, cannot evaluate right hand side of %s=%s\n", pName, pValue);
                 return 0;
             }
         }
@@ -1216,7 +1216,7 @@ measure_parse_stdParams(
     }
 
     if (pCnt == 0) {
-        sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax of ??\n");
+        sprintf(errbuf, "bad syntax of %s\n", pName);
         return 0;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/frontend/measure.c b/src/frontend/measure.c
index 603b2d0af..068f8b7b6 100644
--- a/src/frontend/measure.c
+++ b/src/frontend/measure.c
@@ -67,6 +67,12 @@ com_meas(wordlist *wl)
            May be in the next wl_word */
         if (token[strlen(token) - 1] == '=') {
             wl_index = wl_index->wl_next;
+            if (wl_index == NULL) {
+                line_in = wl_flatten(wl);
+                fprintf(stderr, "\nError: meas %s failed!\n\n", line_in);
+                tfree(line_in);
+                return;
+            }
             vec_found = wl_index->wl_word;
             /* token may be already a value, maybe 'LAST', which we have to keep, or maybe a vector */
             if (!cieq(vec_found, "LAST")) {