diff --git a/src/c/nucl.c b/src/c/nucl.c
index 81694dc54..4a56031bc 100644
--- a/src/c/nucl.c
+++ b/src/c/nucl.c
@@ -1025,7 +1025,10 @@ static cl_object nucl_dictionary_default_entries[] = {
 cl_object
 _nucl_word_dispatch(cl_narg narg, ...)
 {
-  cl_object frame = nucl_stack_frame();
+  const cl_env_ptr the_env = ecl_process_env();
+  struct ecl_stack_frame aux_frame[1];
+  cl_object frame = ecl_cast_ptr(cl_object, aux_frame);
+  ecl_stack_frame_open(the_env, frame, 0);
   return ecl_interpret(frame, ECL_NIL, frame->frame.env->function);
 }