Don't claim that the default height is precisely 36 characters

* doc/emacs/cmdargs.texi (Window Size X):
* doc/man/emacs.1.in: Be more vague about what the default height
is (bug#33921).

2 files changed, 8 insertions, 6 deletions

diff --git a/doc/emacs/cmdargs.texi b/doc/emacs/cmdargs.texi
index 3f008ecc8e7..2b403b4a33e 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/cmdargs.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/cmdargs.texi
@@ -1053,11 +1053,12 @@ specifies a window 164 columns wide, enough for two ordinary width
 windows side by side, and 55 lines tall.
 
   The default frame width is 80 characters and the default height is
-36 lines.  You can omit either the width or the height or both.  If
-you start the geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the
-width.  If you start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs
-interprets it as the height.  Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the
-width; @samp{x45} specifies just the height.
+between 35 and 40 lines, depending on the OS and the window manager.
+You can omit either the width or the height or both.  If you start the
+geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the width.  If you
+start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs interprets it as
+the height.  Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the width; @samp{x45}
+specifies just the height.
 
   If you start the geometry with @samp{+} or @samp{-}, that introduces
 an offset, which means both sizes are omitted.  Thus, @samp{-3}
diff --git a/doc/man/emacs.1.in b/doc/man/emacs.1.in
index 11a3390b17e..25c32e018a0 100644
--- a/doc/man/emacs.1.in
+++ b/doc/man/emacs.1.in
@@ -280,7 +280,8 @@ The geometry specification is in the standard X format; see
 .BR X (7)
 for more information.
 The width and height are specified in characters; the default for GUI
-frames is 80 by 36.
+frames is a width of 80 and a height between 35 and 40, depending on
+the OS and the window manager.
 See the Emacs manual, section "Options for Window Size and Position",
 for information on how window sizes interact
 with selecting or deselecting the tool bar and menu bar.