diff --git a/base/namedtuple.jl b/base/namedtuple.jl
index 8c5c463a73626..3e9f1272d588e 100644
--- a/base/namedtuple.jl
+++ b/base/namedtuple.jl
@@ -319,8 +319,8 @@ values(nt::NamedTuple) = Tuple(nt)
 haskey(nt::NamedTuple, key::Union{Integer, Symbol}) = isdefined(nt, key)
 get(nt::NamedTuple, key::Union{Integer, Symbol}, default) = isdefined(nt, key) ? getfield(nt, key) : default
 get(f::Callable, nt::NamedTuple, key::Union{Integer, Symbol}) = isdefined(nt, key) ? getfield(nt, key) : f()
-tail(t::NamedTuple{names}) where names = NamedTuple{tail(names)}(t)
-front(t::NamedTuple{names}) where names = NamedTuple{front(names)}(t)
+tail(t::NamedTuple{names}) where names = NamedTuple{tail(names::Tuple)}(t)
+front(t::NamedTuple{names}) where names = NamedTuple{front(names::Tuple)}(t)
 reverse(nt::NamedTuple) = NamedTuple{reverse(keys(nt))}(reverse(values(nt)))
 
 @assume_effects :total function diff_names(an::Tuple{Vararg{Symbol}}, bn::Tuple{Vararg{Symbol}})