diff --git a/lib11sht.c b/lib11sht.c
index 1a1f2c0..98c8db7 100644
--- a/lib11sht.c
+++ b/lib11sht.c
@@ -79,6 +79,14 @@ int sequal_full(char *a, char *b, float shold, float *ratio,
             *ratio = 1.0;
             return 0;
         }
+        if(shold >= 1.0f)
+        {
+            /* strict mode: shold=1.0 means no fuzzy match possible
+             * (shit11 ratio is always <= 1.0, never > 1.0). Skip the
+             * Levenshtein DP entirely. */
+            *ratio = 0.0f;
+            return (cmp < 0) ? -1 : 1;
+        }
         *ratio = shit11(s1, s2);
         if(*ratio > shold)
             return 0;