diff --git a/src/compile.rs b/src/compile.rs
index 32d1f6ac9b..9db743f489 100644
--- a/src/compile.rs
+++ b/src/compile.rs
@@ -143,9 +143,7 @@ impl Compiler {
         // matching engine itself.
         let mut dotstar_patch = Patch { hole: Hole::None, entry: 0 };
         self.compiled.is_anchored_start = expr.is_anchored_start();
-        self.compiled.has_anchored_start = expr.has_anchored_start();
         self.compiled.is_anchored_end = expr.is_anchored_end();
-        self.compiled.has_anchored_end = expr.has_anchored_end();
         if self.compiled.needs_dotstar() {
             dotstar_patch = try!(self.c_dotstar());
             self.compiled.start = dotstar_patch.entry;
@@ -173,10 +171,6 @@ impl Compiler {
             exprs.iter().all(|e| e.is_anchored_start());
         self.compiled.is_anchored_end =
             exprs.iter().all(|e| e.is_anchored_end());
-        self.compiled.has_anchored_start =
-            exprs.iter().any(|e| e.has_anchored_start());
-        self.compiled.has_anchored_end =
-            exprs.iter().any(|e| e.has_anchored_end());
         let mut dotstar_patch = Patch { hole: Hole::None, entry: 0 };
         if self.compiled.needs_dotstar() {
             dotstar_patch = try!(self.c_dotstar());
diff --git a/src/exec.rs b/src/exec.rs
index e46ecfb6c2..62b0f0e2a7 100644
--- a/src/exec.rs
+++ b/src/exec.rs
@@ -222,6 +222,12 @@ impl ExecBuilder {
                     .allow_bytes(!self.only_utf8);
             let expr = try!(parser.parse(pat));
             bytes = bytes || expr.has_bytes();
+
+            if !expr.is_anchored_start() && expr.has_anchored_start() {
+                // Partial anchors unfortunately make it hard to use prefixes,
+                // so disable them.
+                prefixes = None;
+            }
             prefixes = prefixes.and_then(|mut prefixes| {
                 if !prefixes.union_prefixes(&expr) {
                     None
@@ -229,6 +235,12 @@ impl ExecBuilder {
                     Some(prefixes)
                 }
             });
+
+            if !expr.is_anchored_end() && expr.has_anchored_end() {
+                // Partial anchors unfortunately make it hard to use suffixes,
+                // so disable them.
+                suffixes = None;
+            }
             suffixes = suffixes.and_then(|mut suffixes| {
                 if !suffixes.union_suffixes(&expr) {
                     None
@@ -1114,9 +1126,7 @@ impl ExecReadOnly {
         // create two sets of literals: all of them and then the subset that
         // aren't anchored. We would then only search for all of them when at
         // the beginning of the input and use the subset in all other cases.
-        if self.res.len() == 1
-            && !self.nfa.has_anchored_start
-            && !self.nfa.has_anchored_end {
+        if self.res.len() == 1 {
             if self.nfa.prefixes.complete() {
                 return if self.nfa.is_anchored_start {
                     Literal(MatchLiteralType::AnchoredStart)
diff --git a/src/prog.rs b/src/prog.rs
index 41ebde009b..36f2aff879 100644
--- a/src/prog.rs
+++ b/src/prog.rs
@@ -52,12 +52,6 @@ pub struct Program {
     pub is_anchored_start: bool,
     /// Whether the regex must match at the end of the input.
     pub is_anchored_end: bool,
-    /// Whether the regex has at least one matchable sub-expression that must
-    /// match from the start of the input.
-    pub has_anchored_start: bool,
-    /// Whether the regex has at least one matchable sub-expression that must
-    /// match at the end of the input.
-    pub has_anchored_end: bool,
     /// Whether this program contains a Unicode word boundary instruction.
     pub has_unicode_word_boundary: bool,
     /// A possibly empty machine for very quickly matching prefix literals.
@@ -97,8 +91,6 @@ impl Program {
             is_reverse: false,
             is_anchored_start: false,
             is_anchored_end: false,
-            has_anchored_start: false,
-            has_anchored_end: false,
             has_unicode_word_boundary: false,
             prefixes: LiteralSearcher::empty(),
             dfa_size_limit: 2 * (1<<20),
diff --git a/tests/macros.rs b/tests/macros.rs
index f9e8912630..34627cf260 100644
--- a/tests/macros.rs
+++ b/tests/macros.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,17 @@ macro_rules! findall {
 
 // Macros for automatically producing tests.
 
+macro_rules! ismatch {
+    ($name:ident, $re:expr, $text:expr, $ismatch:expr) => {
+        #[test]
+        fn $name() {
+            let text = text!($text);
+            let re = regex!($re);
+            assert!($ismatch == re.is_match(text));
+        }
+    };
+}
+
 macro_rules! mat(
     ($name:ident, $re:expr, $text:expr, $($loc:tt)+) => (
         #[test]
diff --git a/tests/regression.rs b/tests/regression.rs
index 3b7a1fe917..68204d9f7c 100644
--- a/tests/regression.rs
+++ b/tests/regression.rs
@@ -64,3 +64,7 @@ matiter!(partial_anchor, u!(r"^a|b"), "ba", (0, 1));
 // See: https://github.com/rust-lang-nursery/regex/issues/264
 mat!(ascii_boundary_no_capture, u!(r"(?-u)\B"), "\u{28f3e}", Some((0, 0)));
 mat!(ascii_boundary_capture, u!(r"(?-u)(\B)"), "\u{28f3e}", Some((0, 0)));
+
+// See: https://github.com/rust-lang-nursery/regex/issues/280
+ismatch!(partial_anchor_alternate_begin, u!(r"^a|z"), "yyyyya", false);
+ismatch!(partial_anchor_alternate_end, u!(r"a$|z"), "ayyyyy", false);