diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/doctor.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/doctor.rb
index e1dbf16789..62d266c083 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/doctor.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/doctor.rb
@@ -437,15 +437,7 @@ def check_xcode_prefix_exists
 end
 
 def check_xcode_select_path
-  # with the advent of CLT-only support, we don't need xcode-select
-
-  if MacOS::Xcode.bad_xcode_select_path?
-    <<-EOS.undent
-      Your xcode-select path is set to /
-      You must unset it or builds will hang:
-        sudo rm /usr/share/xcode-select/xcode_dir_*
-    EOS
-  elsif not MacOS::CLT.installed? and not File.file? "#{MacOS::Xcode.folder}/usr/bin/xcodebuild"
+  if not MacOS::CLT.installed? and not File.file? "#{MacOS::Xcode.folder}/usr/bin/xcodebuild"
     path = MacOS.app_with_bundle_id(MacOS::Xcode::V4_BUNDLE_ID) || MacOS.app_with_bundle_id(MacOS::Xcode::V3_BUNDLE_ID)
     path = '/Developer' if path.nil? or not path.directory?
     <<-EOS.undent
diff --git a/Library/brew.rb b/Library/brew.rb
index 4fa22b4ee0..6a2369b460 100755
--- a/Library/brew.rb
+++ b/Library/brew.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,22 @@ $:.unshift(HOMEBREW_LIBRARY_PATH + '/vendor')
 $:.unshift(HOMEBREW_LIBRARY_PATH)
 require 'global'
 
+# Check for bad xcode-select before anything else, because `doctor` and
+# many other things will hang
+# Note that this bug was fixed in 10.9
+if `xcode-select -print-path 2>/dev/null`.chomp == '/' && MacOS.version < :mavericks
+  ofail <<-EOS.undent
+  Your xcode-select path is currently set to '/'.
+  This causes the `xcrun` tool to hang, and can render Homebrew unusable.
+  If you are using Xcode, you should:
+    sudo xcode-select -switch /Applications/Xcode.app
+  Otherwise, you should:
+    sudo rm -rf /usr/share/xcode-select
+  EOS
+
+  exit -1
+end
+
 case ARGV.first when '-h', '--help', '--usage', '-?', 'help', nil
   require 'cmd/help'
   puts Homebrew.help_s