diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 655f3f0..6bed3bf 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
     print("WARNING: not retrieving libuast, using local version")
 
 if os.getenv("CC") is None:
-    os.environ["CC"] = "gcc"
+    os.environ["CC"] = "g++"  # yes, g++ - otherwise distutils will use gcc -std=c++11 and explode
 if os.getenv("CXX") is None:
     os.environ["CXX"] = "g++"
 libraries = ['xml2']