diff --git a/src/common_term.rs b/src/common_term.rs
index 020660a5..00bb3da8 100644
--- a/src/common_term.rs
+++ b/src/common_term.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,43 @@ pub fn move_cursor_to(out: &Term, x: usize, y: usize) -> io::Result<()> {
     out.write_str(&format!("\x1B[{};{}H", y + 1, x + 1))
 }
 
+#[cfg(unix)]
+/// Return the current cursor's position as a tuple `(n, m)`,
+/// where `n` is the row and `m` the column of the cursor (both 1-based).
+pub fn get_cursor_position(mut out: &Term) -> io::Result<(u16, u16)> {
+    // Send the code "ESC[6n" to the terminal: asking for the current cursor position.
+    out.write_str("\x1b[6n")?;
+    // We expect a response of the form "ESC[n;mR", where n and m are the row and column of the cursor.
+    // n and m are at most 65536, so 4+2*5 bytes should suffice for these purposes.
+    // TODO: this blocks for user input!
+    let mut buf = [0u8; 4 + 2 * 5];
+    let num_read = io::Read::read(&mut out, &mut buf)?;
+    out.clear_chars(num_read)?;
+    // FIXME: re-use ANSI code parser instead of rolling my own.
+    match &buf[..] {
+        [b'\x1B', b'[', middle @ .., b'R'] => {
+            // A valid terminal response means `middle` is valid UTF-8.
+            // Use string methods to simplify the parsing of input.
+            let middle = match std::str::from_utf8(middle) {
+                Ok(m) => m,
+                Err(_) => return Err(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, format!("invalid terminal response: middle part of the output {:?} must be valid UTF-8", buf))),
+            };
+            let parts = middle.splitn(2, ';').collect::<Vec<_>>();
+            let (nstr, mstr) =
+            match &parts[..] {
+                [a, b] => (a, b),
+                _ => return Err(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, format!("invalid terminal response: middle part of the output should be of the form n;m, got {}", middle))),
+            };
+            let (n, m) = (nstr.parse::<u16>().unwrap(), mstr.parse::<u16>().unwrap());
+            Ok((n, m))
+        }
+        _ => Err(io::Error::new(
+            io::ErrorKind::Other,
+            "invalid terminal response: should be of the form ESC[n;mR",
+        )),
+    }
+}
+
 pub fn clear_chars(out: &Term, n: usize) -> io::Result<()> {
     if n > 0 {
         out.write_str(&format!("\x1b[{}D\x1b[0K", n))
diff --git a/src/term.rs b/src/term.rs
index 350a7894..3b95314e 100644
--- a/src/term.rs
+++ b/src/term.rs
@@ -446,10 +446,23 @@ impl Term {
         clear_line(self)
     }
 
-    /// Clear the last `n` lines before the current line.
+    /// Clear the last `n` lines before the current line, if possible.
     ///
     /// Position the cursor at the beginning of the first line that was cleared.
+    /// On UNIX, error when `n` is larger than the number of lines before the current cursor.
+    // FIXME: find good behaviour on windows and document it here.
     pub fn clear_last_lines(&self, n: usize) -> io::Result<()> {
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        {
+            let (current_row, _) = get_cursor_position(self)?;
+            if usize::from(current_row) < n {
+                // We cannot move up n lines, only current_row ones.
+                return Err(io::Error::new(
+                    io::ErrorKind::Other,
+                    format!("can only move up {} lines, not {}", current_row, n),
+                ));
+            }
+        }
         self.move_cursor_up(n)?;
         for _ in 0..n {
             self.clear_line()?;