diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/xtext.c b/src/fe-gtk/xtext.c
index fac0c4e6..418bb4da 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/xtext.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/xtext.c
@@ -283,8 +283,24 @@ backend_font_open (GtkXText *xtext, char *name)
 	metrics = pango_context_get_metrics (context, xtext->font->font, lang);
 	xtext->font->ascent = pango_font_metrics_get_ascent (metrics) / PANGO_SCALE;
 	xtext->font->descent = pango_font_metrics_get_descent (metrics) / PANGO_SCALE;
+
+	/*
+	 * In later versions of pango, a font's height should be calculated like
+	 * this to account for line gap; a typical symptom of not doing so is
+	 * cutting off the underscore on some fonts.
+	 */
+#if PANGO_VERSION_CHECK(1, 44, 0)
+	xtext->fontsize = pango_font_metrics_get_height (metrics) / PANGO_SCALE + 1;
+
+	if (xtext->fontsize == 0)
+		xtext->fontsize = xtext->font->ascent + xtext->font->descent;
+#else
+	xtext->fontsize = xtext->font->ascent + xtext->font->descent;
+#endif
+
 	pango_font_metrics_unref (metrics);
 }
+
 static int
 backend_get_text_width_emph (GtkXText *xtext, guchar *str, int len, int emphasis)
 {
@@ -3479,8 +3495,6 @@ gtk_xtext_set_font (GtkXText *xtext, char *name)
 	if (xtext->font == NULL)
 		return FALSE;
 
-	xtext->fontsize = xtext->font->ascent + xtext->font->descent;
-
 	{
 		char *time_str;
 		int stamp_size = xtext_get_stamp_str (time(0), &time_str);