diff --git a/ps/common.h b/ps/common.h
index 66d8d643..72ffa744 100644
--- a/ps/common.h
+++ b/ps/common.h
@@ -334,6 +334,8 @@ extern void do_help(const char *opt, int rc) NORETURN;
 
 /* global.c */
 extern void self_info(void);
+extern void catastrophic_failure(const char *filename, unsigned int linenum,
+				 const char *message);
 
 /* parser.c */
 extern int arg_parse(int argc, char *argv[]);
diff --git a/ps/display.c b/ps/display.c
index 67d14390..e965f062 100644
--- a/ps/display.c
+++ b/ps/display.c
@@ -41,15 +41,13 @@ static void signal_handler(int signo){
   if(signo==SIGPIPE) _exit(0);  /* "ps | head" will cause this */
   /* fprintf() is not reentrant, but we _exit() anyway */
   fprintf(stderr,
-    _("\n\n"
-      "Signal %d (%s) caught by %s (%s).\n"
-      "Please send bug reports to <procps@freelists.org>\n"),
+    _("Signal %d (%s) caught by %s (%s).\n"),
     signo,
     signal_number_to_name(signo),
     myname,
     procps_version
   );
-  _exit(signo+128);
+  catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
 }
 
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
@@ -250,7 +248,7 @@ static void lists_and_needs(void){
         t_end->need = 0;
         break;
       default:
-        fprintf(stderr, _("please report this bug\n"));
+        catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
         // FALL THROUGH
       case CF_PRINT_AS_NEEDED:
       case CF_PRINT_EVERY_TIME:
diff --git a/ps/global.c b/ps/global.c
index 706d3e39..1d4bc48a 100644
--- a/ps/global.c
+++ b/ps/global.c
@@ -507,3 +507,12 @@ void self_info(void){
   open_psdb(namelist_file);
   fprintf(stderr,"namelist_file=\"%s\"\n",namelist_file?namelist_file:"<no System.map file>");
 }
+
+void __attribute__ ((__noreturn__))
+catastrophic_failure(const char *filename,
+		     unsigned int linenum,
+		     const char *message)
+{
+  error_at_line(0, 0, filename, linenum, message);
+  abort();
+}
diff --git a/ps/parser.c b/ps/parser.c
index 26842278..89016969 100644
--- a/ps/parser.c
+++ b/ps/parser.c
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ static const char *parse_sysv_option(void){
       return _("Embedded '-' among SysV options makes no sense.");
       break;
     case '\0':
-      return _("Please report the \"SysV \\0 can't happen\" bug.");
+      catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
       break;
     default:
       return _("Unsupported SysV option.");
@@ -728,7 +728,7 @@ static const char *parse_bsd_option(void){
       return _("Embedded '-' among BSD options makes no sense.");
       break;
     case '\0':
-      return _("Please report the \"BSD \\0 can't happen\" bug.");
+      catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
       break;
     default:
       return _("Unsupported option (BSD syntax)");
diff --git a/ps/select.c b/ps/select.c
index 6a87fcc5..cbe38a7e 100644
--- a/ps/select.c
+++ b/ps/select.c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ static int proc_was_listed(proc_t *buf){
   while(sn){
     switch(sn->typecode){
     default:
-      printf(_("Internal error in ps! Please report this bug.\n"));
+      catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
 
 #define return_if_match(foo,bar) \
         i=sn->n; while(i--) \
diff --git a/ps/sortformat.c b/ps/sortformat.c
index d83b7d41..01eeead1 100644
--- a/ps/sortformat.c
+++ b/ps/sortformat.c
@@ -96,12 +96,12 @@ static void O_wrap(sf_node *sfn, int otype){
   trailer = (otype=='b') ? "END_BSD" : "END_SYS5" ;
 
   fnode =  do_one_spec("pid",NULL);
-  if(!fnode)fprintf(stderr,_("Seriously crashing. Goodbye cruel world.\n"));
+  if(!fnode)catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("Seriously crashing. Goodbye cruel world."));
   endp = sfn->f_cooked; while(endp->next) endp = endp->next;  /* find end */
   endp->next = fnode;
 
   fnode =  do_one_spec(trailer,NULL);
-  if(!fnode) { fprintf(stderr,_("Seriously crashing. Goodbye cruel world.\n")); exit(1); }
+  if(!fnode)catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("Seriously crashing. Goodbye cruel world."));
   endp = fnode; while(endp->next) endp = endp->next;  /* find end */
   endp->next = sfn->f_cooked;
   sfn->f_cooked = fnode;
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ static const char *parse_O_option(sf_node *sfn){
       already_parsed_sort = 1;
       break;
     default:                                    /***  junk  ***/
-      return _("Bug: parse_O_option got weirdness!");
+      catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("please report this bug"));
   }
   return err; /* could be NULL */
 }
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@ const char *process_sf_options(int localbroken){
     if(err) return err;
   }
 
-  if(format_list) printf(_("Bug: must reset the list first!\n"));
+  if(format_list) catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("Bug: must reset the list first!"));
 
   /* merge formatting info of sf_list into format_list here */
   sf_walk = sf_list;
@@ -884,7 +884,7 @@ const char *process_sf_options(int localbroken){
     if(format_modifiers & FM_j){
       fn = do_one_spec("pgid", NULL);
       if(!fmt_add_after("PPID", fn)) if(!fmt_add_after("PID", fn))
-        return _("Internal error, no PID or PPID for -j option.");
+        catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("Internal error, no PID or PPID for -j option."));
       fn = do_one_spec("sid", NULL);
       if(!fmt_add_after("PGID", fn)) return _("Lost my PGID!");
     }
@@ -899,7 +899,7 @@ const char *process_sf_options(int localbroken){
       fmt_delete("NI");
       fn = do_one_spec("class", NULL);
       if(!fmt_add_after("PRI", fn))
-        return _("Internal error, no PRI for -c option.");
+        catastrophic_failure(__FILE__, __LINE__, _("Internal error, no PRI for -c option."));
       fmt_delete("PRI"); /* we want a different one */
       fn = do_one_spec("pri", NULL);
       if(!fmt_add_after("CLS", fn)) return _("Lost my CLS!");