diff --git a/utils.mk b/utils.mk
index c823d211..4a0cc2ae 100644
--- a/utils.mk
+++ b/utils.mk
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 # vars for use by utils
-empty :=
-space := $(empty) $(empty)
 colon := $(empty):$(empty)
 underscore := $(empty)_$(empty)