diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/viewers/table.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/viewers/table.rs
index e1c7b8d30d..72b6be8938 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/viewers/table.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/viewers/table.rs
@@ -1725,8 +1725,14 @@ impl Iterator for PagingTableCreator {
                 Some(Ok(bytes))
             }
             Ok(None) => {
-                let term_width = get_width_param(self.width_param);
-                let msg = format!("Couldn't fit table into {} columns!", term_width);
+                let msg = if nu_utils::ctrl_c::was_pressed(&self.ctrlc) {
+                    "".into()
+                } else {
+                    // assume this failed because the table was too wide
+                    // TODO: more robust error classification
+                    let term_width = get_width_param(self.width_param);
+                    format!("Couldn't fit table into {} columns!", term_width)
+                };
                 Some(Ok(msg.as_bytes().to_vec()))
             }
             Err(err) => Some(Err(err)),