diff --git a/wp-includes/functions-formatting.php b/wp-includes/functions-formatting.php
index d8d53583b..be4fbcda4 100644
--- a/wp-includes/functions-formatting.php
+++ b/wp-includes/functions-formatting.php
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ function wptexturize($text) {
 		} else {
 			$next = true;
 		}
-		$curl = preg_replace('/&([^#])(?![a-z]{1,8};)/', '&$1', $curl);
+		$curl = preg_replace('/&([^#])(?![a-z12]{1,8};)/', '&$1', $curl);
 		$output .= $curl;
 	}
 	return $output;