diff --git a/components/gfx/font_cache_thread.rs b/components/gfx/font_cache_thread.rs
index 5a98e717548..558d8b170a6 100644
--- a/components/gfx/font_cache_thread.rs
+++ b/components/gfx/font_cache_thread.rs
@@ -438,8 +438,8 @@ impl FontCacheThread {
 
     pub fn exit(&self) {
         let (response_chan, response_port) = ipc::channel().unwrap();
-        self.chan.send(Command::Exit(response_chan)).unwrap();
-        response_port.recv().unwrap();
+        self.chan.send(Command::Exit(response_chan)).expect("Couldn't send FontCacheThread exit message");
+        response_port.recv().expect("Couldn't receive FontCacheThread reply");
     }
 }