diff --git a/hsmw-highlight b/hsmw-highlight
index 344cfe7..2f67bd2 100644
--- a/hsmw-highlight
+++ b/hsmw-highlight
@@ -173,7 +173,6 @@ typeset -gA HSMW_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES
   local -a options_to_set # used in callees
   local buf="$1"
   integer len="${#buf}"
-  integer pure_buf_len=len   # historical, was $#BUFFER, i.e. len without $PREBUFFER; used e.g. in *_check_path
 
   local braces_stack # "R" for round, "Q" for square, "Y" for curly