diff --git a/Lib/fontTools/misc/textTools.py b/Lib/fontTools/misc/textTools.py
index 002e7b956..d461b2524 100644
--- a/Lib/fontTools/misc/textTools.py
+++ b/Lib/fontTools/misc/textTools.py
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 import string
 
 
-def safeEval(data, eval=eval, locals={}):
+def safeEval(data, eval=eval):
 	"""A (kindof) safe replacement for eval."""
-	return eval(data, {"__builtins__":{}}, locals)
+	return eval(data, {"__builtins__":{}})
 
 
 def readHex(content):