diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index c6375ad..ae5937c 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -30,6 +30,17 @@ cflags =[
     '-Wstrict-overflow=2',
     '-Wswitch',
 ]
+
+if cc.get_id() == 'clang'
+    cflags += [
+        # clang doesn't think just using _unref_ is a use of the variable
+        #       _unref_(foo) *bar = something_that_gives_a_ref
+        # but we make heavy use of that in the test suite for convenience
+        # of events we know must exist but we don't care about specifically
+        '-Wno-unused-variable',
+    ]
+endif
+
 add_project_arguments(cc.get_supported_arguments(cflags), language: 'c')
 
 config_h = configuration_data()