diff --git a/grammars/scss.cson b/grammars/scss.cson
index 45497d6..5b9c508 100644
--- a/grammars/scss.cson
+++ b/grammars/scss.cson
@@ -1546,5 +1546,5 @@
       }
     ]
   'variables':
-    'match': '(\\$|\\-\\-)[A-Za-z0-9_-]+\\b'
+    'match': '(\\$|(?<!&)\\-\\-)[A-Za-z0-9_-]+\\b'
     'name': 'variable.scss'