diff --git a/doc/fixes37.0 b/doc/fixes37.0
index 4fc73a6cd..3443d41c8 100644
--- a/doc/fixes37.0
+++ b/doc/fixes37.0
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.60 $ $NHDT-Date: 1578690701 2020/01/10 21:11:41 $
+$NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.61 $ $NHDT-Date: 1578761136 2020/01/11 16:45:36 $
 
 General Fixes and Modified Features
 -----------------------------------
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ if running and Blind or Stunned or Fumbling or Dex < 10, encountering a closed
 	door orthogonally would keep reporting "ouch! you bump into a door"
 	repeatedly until eventually interrupted by approaching monster or
 	hunger or ^C
+data.base lookup of an entry with any blank lines would falsely claim that
+	"'data' file in wrong fromat or corrupted" after some extra checks
+	were added while investigating tab handling anomalies
 
 
 Platform- and/or Interface-Specific Fixes
diff --git a/src/pager.c b/src/pager.c
index 6781793e8..35548e6bd 100644
--- a/src/pager.c
+++ b/src/pager.c
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* NetHack 3.6	pager.c	$NHDT-Date: 1578668022 2020/01/10 14:53:42 $  $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.181 $ */
+/* NetHack 3.6	pager.c	$NHDT-Date: 1578761137 2020/01/11 16:45:37 $  $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.182 $ */
 /* Copyright (c) Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, 1985. */
 /*-Copyright (c) Robert Patrick Rankin, 2018. */
 /* NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details. */
@@ -802,7 +802,7 @@ char *supplemental_name;
                             do {
                                 ++tp;
                             } while (tp < &tabbuf[8] && *tp == ' ');
-                        } else {
+                        } else if (*tp) { /* empty lines are ok */
                             goto bad_data_file;
                         }
                         /* if a tab after the leading one is found,