diff --git a/files.c b/files.c
index d010cc0..165c9b5 100644
--- a/files.c
+++ b/files.c
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ void destroy_file(file_t **f)
         }
     }
 
-    for (allocated_pat_t *next; (*f)->pats; (*f)->pats = next) {
+    for (pat_t *next; (*f)->pats; (*f)->pats = next) {
         next = (*f)->pats->next;
         xfree(&(*f)->pats);
     }
diff --git a/files.h b/files.h
index c3ee37d..6dc00fa 100644
--- a/files.h
+++ b/files.h
@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@
 
 #define file_err(f, ...) do { fprint_line(stderr, f, __VA_ARGS__); exit(EXIT_FAILURE); } while(false)
 
-struct allocated_pat_s; // declared in types.h
+struct pat_s; // declared in types.h
 
 typedef struct file_s {
     struct file_s *next;
     const char *filename;
     char *memory, **lines, *start, *end;
     size_t nlines;
-    struct allocated_pat_s *pats;
+    struct pat_s *pats;
     bool mmapped:1;
 } file_t;
 
diff --git a/match.c b/match.c
index 6882c06..d6d69af 100644
--- a/match.c
+++ b/match.c
@@ -497,14 +497,14 @@ static match_t *match(def_t *defs, file_t *f, const char *str, pat_t *pat, bool
                 size_t len = (size_t)(m1->end - m1->start);
                 pat_t *backref = new_pat(f, m1->start, m1->end, len, (ssize_t)len, BP_STRING);
                 backref->args.string = m1->start;
-                def_t *defs2 = with_def(defs, m1->pat->args.capture.namelen, m1->pat->args.capture.name, backref);
 
+                def_t *defs2 = with_def(defs, m1->pat->args.capture.namelen, m1->pat->args.capture.name, backref);
                 ++m1->refcount; {
                     m2 = match(defs2, f, m1->end, pat->args.multiple.second, ignorecase);
                     if (!m2) { // No need to keep the backref in memory if it didn't match
-                        for (struct allocated_pat_s **rem = &f->pats; *rem; rem = &(*rem)->next) {
-                            if (&(*rem)->pat == backref) {
-                                struct allocated_pat_s *tmp = *rem;
+                        for (pat_t **rem = &f->pats; *rem; rem = &(*rem)->next) {
+                            if ((*rem) == backref) {
+                                pat_t *tmp = *rem;
                                 *rem = (*rem)->next;
                                 free(tmp);
                                 break;
diff --git a/pattern.c b/pattern.c
index 4664c8a..ea9cf39 100644
--- a/pattern.c
+++ b/pattern.c
@@ -34,16 +34,18 @@ static pat_t *bp_simplepattern(file_t *f, const char *str);
 pat_t *new_pat(file_t *f, const char *start, const char *end, size_t minlen, ssize_t maxlen, enum pattype_e type)
 {
     static size_t next_pat_id = 1;
-    allocated_pat_t *tracker = new(allocated_pat_t);
-    tracker->next = f->pats;
-    f->pats = tracker;
-    tracker->pat.type = type;
-    tracker->pat.start = start;
-    tracker->pat.end = end;
-    tracker->pat.min_matchlen = minlen;
-    tracker->pat.max_matchlen = maxlen;
-    tracker->pat.id = next_pat_id++;
-    return &tracker->pat;
+    pat_t *pat = new(pat_t);
+    *pat = (pat_t){
+        .next = f->pats,
+        .type = type,
+        .start = start,
+        .end = end,
+        .min_matchlen = minlen,
+        .max_matchlen = maxlen,
+        .id = next_pat_id++,
+    };
+    f->pats = pat;
+    return pat;
 }
 
 //
diff --git a/types.h b/types.h
index 3a94203..4085218 100644
--- a/types.h
+++ b/types.h
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ struct match_s; // forward declared to resolve circular struct defs
 // A struct reperesenting a BP virtual machine operation
 //
 typedef struct pat_s {
+    struct pat_s *next;
     enum pattype_e type;
     const char *start, *end;
     // The bounds of the match length (used for backtracking)
@@ -126,14 +127,5 @@ typedef struct def_s {
     struct def_s *next;
 } def_t;
 
-//
-// Structure used for tracking allocated patterns, which must be freed when the
-// file is freed.
-//
-typedef struct allocated_pat_s {
-    struct allocated_pat_s *next;
-    pat_t pat;
-} allocated_pat_t;
-
 #endif
 // vim: ts=4 sw=0 et cino=L2,l1,(0,W4,m1