On Thu, 2013-10-24 at 23:56 +1100, Scott Ferguson wrote: > alias s='su -c "' You still need a wrapper to handle quotation marks. command_foo --option_bar "string abc" by your alias s command_foo --option_bar \"string abc\"" imagine more than just one option needing the quotation marks. It's easier to use sudo or to write a wrapper for su -c. sudo command_foo --option_bar "string abc"