diff --git a/passes/cmds/show.cc b/passes/cmds/show.cc
index 525c81d5b..0dc5c452c 100644
--- a/passes/cmds/show.cc
+++ b/passes/cmds/show.cc
@@ -201,6 +201,12 @@ struct ShowWorker
 		if (id[0] == '\\')
 			id = id.substr(1);
 
+		// TODO: optionally include autoname + print correspondence in case of ambiguity
+		size_t max_label_len = abbreviateIds ? 256 : 16384;
+		if (id.size() > max_label_len) {
+			id = id.substr(0,max_label_len-3) + "...";
+		}
+
 		std::string str;
 		for (char ch : id) {
 			if (ch == '\\') {
@@ -208,7 +214,7 @@ struct ShowWorker
 				str += "╲";
 				continue;
 			}
-			if (ch == '"')
+			if (ch == '"' || ch == '<' || ch == '>')
 				str += "\\";
 			str += ch;
 		}