diff --git a/functions.lua b/functions.lua
index e8e4789..8a5517c 100644
--- a/functions.lua
+++ b/functions.lua
@@ -1077,8 +1077,12 @@ yl_speak_up.get_sorted_options = function(options, sort_by)
 	end
 	table.sort(sorted_list,
 		function(a,b)
+			if(not(options[a][sort_by])) then
+				return false
+			elseif(not(options[b][sort_by])) then
+				return true
 			-- sadly not all entries are numeric
-			if(tonumber(options[a][sort_by]) and tonumber(options[b][sort_by])) then
+			elseif(tonumber(options[a][sort_by]) and tonumber(options[b][sort_by])) then
 				return (tonumber(options[a][sort_by]) < tonumber(options[b][sort_by]))
 			-- numbers have a higher priority
 			elseif(tonumber(options[a][sort_by])) then