diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 9682a4f9198..d02c1ebdd03 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -3023,7 +3023,9 @@ let
   boost144 = callPackage ../development/libraries/boost/1.44.nix { };
   boost146 = callPackage ../development/libraries/boost/1.46.nix { };
   boost147 = callPackage ../development/libraries/boost/1.47.nix { };
-  boost = boost147;
+  # 1.47.0 doesn't compile on Darwin. The issue is probably trivial to
+  # fix, but no-one has done it yet.
+  boost = if stdenv.isDarwin then boost146 else boost147;
 
   # A Boost build with all library variants enabled.  Very large (about 250 MB).
   boostFull = appendToName "full" (boost.override {