diff --git a/acinclude.m4 b/acinclude.m4
index a0eb13a..dbf47da 100644
--- a/acinclude.m4
+++ b/acinclude.m4
@@ -84,10 +84,10 @@ double d = 90904234967036810337470478905
 
 ]])], [
 
-if grep noonsees conftest.$ac_objext >/dev/null ; then
+if strings conftest.$ac_objext | grep noonsees >/dev/null ; then
   ax_cv_c_float_words_bigendian=yes
 fi
-if grep seesnoon conftest.$ac_objext >/dev/null ; then
+if strings conftest.$ac_objext | grep seesnoon >/dev/null ; then
   if test "$ax_cv_c_float_words_bigendian" = unknown; then
     ax_cv_c_float_words_bigendian=no
   else