diff --git a/options.c b/options.c
index 80a7047..6ceefbc 100644
--- a/options.c
+++ b/options.c
@@ -4206,7 +4206,7 @@
 
 	if (!opt) {
 		log_err("fio: no option found at offset %u\n", off1);
-		return 0;
+		return -1;
 	}
 
 	opt_off = opt - &fio_options[0];
diff --git a/options.h b/options.h
index fa015c3..e830884 100644
--- a/options.h
+++ b/options.h
@@ -24,8 +24,15 @@
 
 extern int __fio_option_is_set(struct thread_options *, unsigned int off);
 
-#define fio_option_is_set(__td, name)	\
-	__fio_option_is_set((__td), td_var_offset(name))
+#define fio_option_is_set(__td, name)					\
+({									\
+	int __r = __fio_option_is_set((__td), td_var_offset(name));	\
+	if (__r == -1) {						\
+		log_err("fio: wanted %s\n", __fio_stringify(name));	\
+		__r = 0;						\
+	}								\
+	__r;								\
+})
 
 extern void fio_option_mark_set(struct thread_options *, struct fio_option *);