diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ade8709..cfb49aa 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -477,9 +477,6 @@ scripts_basic:
 	$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=scripts/basic
 	$(Q)rm -f .tmp_quiet_recordmcount
 
-# To avoid any implicit rule to kick in, define an empty command.
-scripts/basic/%: scripts_basic ;
-
 PHONY += outputmakefile
 # outputmakefile generates a Makefile in the output directory, if using a
 # separate output directory. This allows convenient use of make in the