diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Main.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Main.scala
index 4e515baaa..fa5f2c721 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Main.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Main.scala
@@ -760,7 +760,7 @@ object BuiltinCommands {
   @tailrec
   private[this] def doLoadFailed(s: State, loadArg: String): State = {
     val result = (SimpleReader.readLine(
-      "Project loading failed: (r)etry, (q)uit, (l)ast, or (i)gnore? "
+      "Project loading failed: (r)etry, (q)uit, (l)ast, or (i)gnore? (default: r)"
     ) getOrElse Quit)
       .toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)
     def matches(s: String) = !result.isEmpty && (s startsWith result)