diff --git a/doc/common.m4 b/doc/common.m4
index 9068ab669..144ad2b41 100644
--- a/doc/common.m4
+++ b/doc/common.m4
@@ -121,14 +121,13 @@ General output/reporting flags (supported by some commands):
                             YYYY-MM-DD: value on given date
   -c --commodity-style=S    Override a commodity's display style.
                             Eg: -c '$1000.' or -c '1.000,00 EUR'
-     --color=YN --colour    Use ANSI color codes in text output? Can be:
-                            'yes' or 'always',
-                            'no' or 'never' (a NO_COLOR env var forces this),
-                            'auto' (the default: when using a color terminal).
+     --color=YN --colour    Use ANSI color codes in text output? Can be
+                            'y'/'yes'/'always', 'n'/'no'/'never' or 'auto'.
+                            (A NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this.)
      --pretty[=YN]          Use box-drawing characters in text output? Can be
-                            'yes' (the default argument for --pretty) or 'no'.
+                            'y'/'yes' or 'n'/'no'.
                             If YN is specified, the equals is required.
-     --debug=[N]            show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1)
+     --debug=[1-9]          show this level of debug output (default: 1)
 
 General help flags:
   -h --help                 show command line help
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
index 15fbd4a7e..5e55560d0 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
@@ -228,13 +228,12 @@ reportflags = [
   -- This has special support in hledger-lib:colorOption, keep synced
  ,flagReq  ["color","colour"] (\s opts -> Right $ setopt "color" s opts) "YN"
    (unlines
-     ["Use ANSI color codes in text output? Can be:"
-     ,"'yes' or 'always',"
-     ,"'no' or 'never' (a NO_COLOR env var forces this),"
-     ,"'auto' (the default: when using a color terminal)."
+     ["Use ANSI color codes in text output? Can be"
+     ,"'y'/'yes'/'always', 'n'/'no'/'never' or 'auto'."
+     ,"(A NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this.)"
      ])
  ,flagOpt "yes" ["pretty"] (\s opts -> Right $ setopt "pretty" s opts) "YN"
-    "Use box-drawing characters in text output? Can be\n'yes' (the default argument for --pretty) or 'no'.\nIf YN is specified, the equals is required."
+    "Use box-drawing characters in text output? Can be\n'y'/'yes' or 'n'/'no'.\nIf YN is specified, the equals is required."
 
  -- flagOpt would be more correct for --debug, showing --debug[=LVL] rather than --debug=[LVL].
  -- But because we handle --debug specially, flagReq also works, and it does not need =, removing a source of confusion.