diff --git a/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js b/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js
index 42b64934867dd..e941e0cb9d5f7 100644
--- a/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js
+++ b/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-'use strict'
-var path = require('path')
-var isWindows = require('./is-windows.js')
+const { normalize } = require('path')
+const isWindows = require('./is-windows.js')
 
 /*
 Escape the name of an executable suitable for passing to the system shell.
@@ -9,22 +8,14 @@ Windows is easy, wrap in double quotes and you're done, as there's no
 facility to create files with quotes in their names.
 
 Unix-likes are a little more complicated, wrap in single quotes and escape
-any single quotes in the filename.
+any single quotes in the filename.  The '"'"' construction ends the quoted
+block, creates a new " quoted string with ' in it.  So, `foo'bar` becomes
+`'foo'"'"'bar'`, which is the bash way of saying `'foo' + "'" + 'bar'`.
 */
 
-module.exports = escapify
+const winQuote = str => !/ /.test(str) ? str : '"' + str + '"'
+const winEsc = str => normalize(str).split(/\\/).map(winQuote).join('\\')
 
-function windowsQuotes (str) {
-  if (!/ /.test(str)) return str
-  return '"' + str + '"'
-}
-
-function escapify (str) {
-  if (isWindows) {
-    return path.normalize(str).split(/\\/).map(windowsQuotes).join('\\')
-  } else if (/[^-_.~/\w]/.test(str)) {
-    return "'" + str.replace(/'/g, "'\"'\"'") + "'"
-  } else {
-    return str
-  }
-}
+module.exports = str => isWindows ? winEsc(str)
+  : /[^-_.~/\w]/.test(str) ? "'" + str.replace(/'/g, `'"'"'`) + "'"
+  : str
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js b/test/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..28fe75c2a98f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+const requireInject = require('require-inject')
+const t = require('tap')
+const getEscape = win => requireInject('../../../lib/utils/escape-exec-path.js', {
+  '../../../lib/utils/is-windows.js': win,
+  path: require('path')[win ? 'win32' : 'posix']
+})
+
+const winEscape = getEscape(true)
+const nixEscape = getEscape(false)
+
+t.equal(winEscape('hello/to the/world'), 'hello\\"to the"\\world')
+t.equal(nixEscape(`hello/to-the/world`), `hello/to-the/world`)
+t.equal(nixEscape(`hello/to the/world`), `'hello/to the/world'`)
+t.equal(nixEscape(`hello/to%the/world`), `'hello/to%the/world'`)
+t.equal(nixEscape(`hello/to'the/world`), `'hello/to'"'"'the/world'`)