diff --git a/hack/verify-staticcheck.sh b/hack/verify-staticcheck.sh
index 56630f3efe..92bf3a0e51 100755
--- a/hack/verify-staticcheck.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-staticcheck.sh
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ export IFS=','; checks="${CHECKS[*]}"; unset IFS
 # add it to the .staticcheck_failures blacklist
 IGNORE=(
 )
-export IFS='|'; ignore_pattern="^(${IGNORE[*]})\$"; unset IFS
+export IFS='|'; ignore_pattern="^(${IGNORE[*]-})\$"; unset IFS
 
 # Ensure that we find the binaries we build before anything else.
 export GOBIN="${KOPS_ROOT}/_output/bin"
@@ -165,4 +165,4 @@ if [[ ${#gone[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
     echo
   } >&2
   exit 1
-fi
\ No newline at end of file
+fi