diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/idle_test/test_text.py b/Lib/idlelib/idle_test/test_text.py
index 367bf384986..46af5991712 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/idle_test/test_text.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/idle_test/test_text.py
@@ -216,7 +216,10 @@ class TkTextTest(TextTest, unittest.TestCase):
         requires('gui')
         from tkinter import Tk, Text
         cls.Text = Text
-        cls.root = Tk()
+        try:
+            cls.root = Tk()
+        except TclError as msg:
+            raise unittest.SkipTest('TclError: %s' % msg)
 
     @classmethod
     def tearDownClass(cls):