diff --git a/Readme.md b/Readme.md
index 0d18b3b..255f8f6 100644
--- a/Readme.md
+++ b/Readme.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Todo (sorted by priority)
   0. ~~Make the search case-insensitive (as well as accents insensitive)~~
   0. ~~BUG: trim spaces from search expression~~
   0. ~~BUG: fix search for codes also~~
+  0. ~~BUG: don't search for empty string~~
   0. Create a nice html page (may take several steps)
   0. Make it chrome compatible (some trouble with the first ajax call)
   0. Make the search mis-spelling safe (like Google does)
diff --git a/cherche.js b/cherche.js
index c2f1b5f..c4c3c2a 100644
--- a/cherche.js
+++ b/cherche.js
@@ -211,7 +211,8 @@ function main() {
   //console.log(words.data);
   $( "#question" ).keyup(function () {
     var str = removeDiacritics($( "#question" ).val());
-    var ans = words.find({'Word': { '$contains': str.trim()}});
+    var cleanstr = str ? str.trim() : null;
+    var ans = words.find({'Word': { '$contains': cleanstr }});
     //console.log("Words found: ",ans);
     //console.log(displayMany(ans));
     $( "#answer" ).empty().append(displayMany(ans));