diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index f1c5cef..2faf416 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ AC_INIT(c/scheme48vm.c)
      fi
 
      AR=${AR-"ar cq"}
-     TMPDIR=${TMPDIR-"/usr/tmp"}
+     TMPDIR=${TMPDIR-"/var/tmp"}
      case "$host" in
   ## CX/UX
   m88k-harris-cxux* )