diff --git a/src/eval.c b/src/eval.c
index b835af8..c4154d0 100644
--- a/src/eval.c
+++ b/src/eval.c
@@ -1811,6 +1811,7 @@
  *
  * flags:
  *  GLV_QUIET:       do not give error messages
+ *  GLV_READ_ONLY:   will not change the variable
  *  GLV_NO_AUTOLOAD: do not use script autoloading
  *
  * Returns a pointer to just after the name, including indexes.
@@ -2078,7 +2079,8 @@
 		break;
 	    }
 	    /* existing variable, need to check if it can be changed */
-	    else if (var_check_ro(lp->ll_di->di_flags, name, FALSE))
+	    else if ((flags & GLV_READ_ONLY) == 0
+			     && var_check_ro(lp->ll_di->di_flags, name, FALSE))
 	    {
 		clear_tv(&var1);
 		return NULL;