diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/requirements/maximum_macos_requirement.rb b/Library/Homebrew/requirements/maximum_macos_requirement.rb
index fe2fd11fc3..9f5b42d540 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/requirements/maximum_macos_requirement.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/requirements/maximum_macos_requirement.rb
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ class MaximumMacOSRequirement < Requirement
 
   def message
     <<-EOS.undent
-      OS X #{@version.pretty_name} or older is required.
+      This formula either does not compile or function as expected on OS X
+      versions newer than #{@version.pretty_name} due to an upstream incompatibility.
     EOS
   end
 end