diff --git a/Tools/freeze/checkextensions.py b/Tools/freeze/checkextensions.py
index 4ed2a7c33c6..8d597bfae96 100644
--- a/Tools/freeze/checkextensions.py
+++ b/Tools/freeze/checkextensions.py
@@ -47,9 +47,10 @@ def select(e, mods, vars, mod, skipofiles):
 		for w in string.split(w):
 			if skipofiles and w[-2:] == '.o':
 				continue
-			if w[0] != '-' and w[-2:] in ('.o', '.a'):
+			# Assume $var expands to absolute pathname
+			if w[0] not in ('-', '$') and w[-2:] in ('.o', '.a'):
 				w = os.path.join(e, w)
-			if w[:2] in ('-L', '-R'):
+			if w[:2] in ('-L', '-R') and w[2:3] != '$':
 				w = w[:2] + os.path.join(e, w[2:])
 			files.append(w)
 	return files