diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
index 15a06a5bc..aa34ffd4a 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
@@ -152,7 +152,17 @@ function packageDefIndex(
   return byPackage.get(pkg);
 }
 
-const stripBackticks = (s: string): string => s.replace(/^`+|`+$/g, '');
+/**
+ * `s` without its leading and trailing backticks. Two scans, not `/^`+|`+$/g`: the pattern is
+ * quadratic on `x` + n backticks + `y`, and a NAMESPACE entry is repository-controlled text.
+ */
+const stripBackticks = (s: string): string => {
+  let start = 0;
+  let end = s.length;
+  while (start < end && s.charCodeAt(start) === 96) start++;
+  while (end > start && s.charCodeAt(end - 1) === 96) end--;
+  return s.slice(start, end);
+};
 
 /**
  * Resolve a NAMESPACE `importFrom(pkg, importedName)` to the `R/` file(s) of the
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-namespace-imports.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-namespace-imports.test.ts
index 45bff26dd..cc2e85e07 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-namespace-imports.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-namespace-imports.test.ts
@@ -637,6 +637,16 @@ describe('resolveRImportTarget — named imports (NAMESPACE importFrom)', () =>
       expect(resolve(t, 'scorelib', 'g')).toEqual([F]);
     });
 
+    it('looks a name up among export entries that hold a long run of backticks in linear time', () => {
+      // `/^`+|`+$/g` took ~12 s per entry on this shape; the bound leaves a ten-fold margin.
+      const hostile = `x${'`'.repeat(200_000)}y`;
+      const s = setup({ [F]: src }, { exports: [hostile, 'f'] });
+      const start = performance.now();
+      const answers = [resolve(s, 'scorelib', 'hidden'), resolve(s, 'scorelib', 'f')];
+      expect(performance.now() - start).toBeLessThan(2_000);
+      expect(answers).toEqual([null, [F]]);
+    });
+
     it('treats a package without a NAMESPACE file as exporting everything', () => {
       const s = setup({ [F]: src }, undefined);
       expect(resolve(s, 'scorelib', 'hidden')).toEqual([F]);