diff --git a/commands/core/core.drush.inc b/commands/core/core.drush.inc
index 6f9908d474f87a24e917b7249c58b07633eac0c9..f8c638633f75dbef1789c2f30b7c2f151a433134 100644
--- a/commands/core/core.drush.inc
+++ b/commands/core/core.drush.inc
@@ -185,7 +185,6 @@ function core_drush_command() {
     ),
     'options' => array(
       'mode' => 'The unary flags to pass to rsync; --mode=rultz implies rsync -rultz.  Default is -akz.',
-      'RSYNC-FLAG' => 'Most rsync flags passed to drush sync will be passed on to rsync.  See rsync documentation.',
       'exclude-conf' => 'Excludes settings.php from being rsynced.  Default.',
       'include-conf' => 'Allow settings.php to be rsynced. Default is to exclude settings.php.',
       'include-vcs' => 'Include special version control directories (e.g. .svn).  Default is to exclude vcs files.',
@@ -194,11 +193,14 @@ function core_drush_command() {
       'exclude-other-sites' => 'Exclude all directories in "sites/" except for "sites/all" and the site directory for the site being synced.  Note: if the site directory is different between the source and destination, use --exclude-sites followed by "drush rsync @from:%site @to:%site"',
       'exclude-paths' => 'List of paths to exclude, seperated by : (Unix-based systems) or ; (Windows).',
       'include-paths' => 'List of paths to include, seperated by : (Unix-based systems) or ; (Windows).',
+      '{rsync-option-name}' => "Replace {rsync-option-name} with the rsync option (or option='value') that you would like to pass through to rsync. Examples include --delete, --exclude=*.sql, --filter='merge /etc/rsync/default.rules', etc. See the rsync documentation for a complete explaination of all the rsync options and values.",
+
     ),
     'strict-option-handling' => TRUE,
     'examples' => array(
-      'drush rsync @dev @stage' => 'Rsync Drupal root from dev to stage (one of which must be local).',
-      'drush rsync ./ @stage:%files/img' => 'Rsync all files in the current directory to the \'img\' directory in the file storage folder on stage.',
+      'drush rsync @dev @stage' => 'Rsync Drupal root from Drush alias dev to the alias stage (one of which must be local).',
+      'drush rsync ./ @stage:%files/img' => 'Rsync all files in the current directory to the \'img\' directory in the file storage folder on the Drush alias stage.',
+      'drush -s rsync @dev @stage --exclude=*.sql --delete' => "Simulate Rsync Drupal root from the Drush alias dev to the alias stage (one of which must be local), excluding all files that match the filter '*.sql' and delete all files on the destination that are no longer on the source.",
     ),
     'aliases' => array('rsync'),
     'topics' => array('docs-aliases'),
diff --git a/commands/core/rsync.core.inc b/commands/core/rsync.core.inc
index eec5747b5f47252c0168950b87f80e0c5c8dcb36..48a6a877426a6bcabe041d26ee63e7432058ec1d 100644
--- a/commands/core/rsync.core.inc
+++ b/commands/core/rsync.core.inc
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ function drush_core_rsync($source, $destination, $additional_options = array())
         $options .= ' ' . $original_option;
       }
     }
-    
+
     // Go ahead and call rsync with the paths we determined
     return drush_core_exec_rsync($source_path, $destination_path, $options);
   }
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ function drush_core_rsync($source, $destination, $additional_options = array())
  *   TRUE on success, FALSE on failure.
  */
 function drush_core_call_rsync($source, $destination, $additional_options = array(), $include_settings_is_default = TRUE, $live_output = TRUE) {
-  $options = _drush_build_rsync_options($additional_options, $include_settings_is_default);  
+  $options = _drush_build_rsync_options($additional_options, $include_settings_is_default);
   return drush_core_exec_rsync($source, $destination, $options, $additional_options, $live_output);
 }
 
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ function _drush_build_rsync_options($additional_options, $include_settings_is_de
       }
     }
     if ((isset($test_option)) && !in_array($test_option, $options_to_exclude) && (isset($value)  && !is_array($value))) {
-      if ($value === TRUE) {
+      if (($value === TRUE) || (!isset($value))) {
         $options .= " --$test_option";
       }
       else {
diff --git a/examples/example.aliases.drushrc.php b/examples/example.aliases.drushrc.php
index 6990eb178712d48d0770f0b50123bb158be8f6ea..e153bc81c78162a42f50778bc2bbaec1a6a93cc2 100644
--- a/examples/example.aliases.drushrc.php
+++ b/examples/example.aliases.drushrc.php
@@ -211,6 +211,42 @@
  *   in fact are removed before making a backend invoke call (for example). These
  *   kinds of values are useful in conjunction with shell aliases.  See
  *   `drush topic docs-shell-aliases` for more information on this.
+ * - rsync command options have specific requirements in order to
+ *   be passed through by Drush. See the comments on the sample below:
+ *
+ *       'command-specific' => array (
+ *         'core-rsync' => array (
+ *
+ *           // single-letter rsync options are placed in the 'mode' key
+ *           // instead of adding '--mode=rultvz' to drush rsync command.
+ *           'mode' => 'rultvz',
+ *
+ *           // multi-letter rsync options without values must be set to
+ *           // TRUE or NULL to work (i.e. setting $VALUE to 1, 0, or ''
+ *           // will not work).
+ *           'delete' => TRUE,
+ *
+ *           // wrapping an option's value in "" preserves inner '' on output;
+ *           // but is not always required.
+ *           'exclude' => "'*.gz'",
+ *
+ *           // cannot add multiple options of same key; each key overwrites
+ *           // the previous key's value. This 'exclude' option will overwrite
+ *           // the previous one above.
+ *           'exclude' => '*.sql',
+ *
+ *           // if you need multiple exludes, use an rsync exclude file
+ *           'exclude-from' => "'/etc/rsync/exclude.rules'",
+ *
+ *           // filter options with white space must be wrapped in "" to preserve
+ *           // the inner ''.
+ *           'filter' => "'exclude *.sql'",
+ *
+ *           // if you need multple filter options, see rsync merge-file options
+ *           'filter' => "'merge /etc/rsync/default.rules'",
+ *         ),
+ *       ),
+ *
  * Some examples appear below.  Remove the leading hash signs to enable.
  */
 #$aliases['stage'] = array(
diff --git a/includes/command.inc b/includes/command.inc
index ee5e0a099196b9f0fa3d90a77d66f5f35c363045..dfec848044eab636511f4699142c63aeb0eda392 100644
--- a/includes/command.inc
+++ b/includes/command.inc
@@ -1593,7 +1593,12 @@ function drush_get_original_cli_args_and_options($command = NULL) {
   $command_options = ($command == NULL) ? array() : _drush_get_command_options($command);
   foreach ($command_specific_options as $key => $value) {
     if (!array_key_exists($key, $command_options)) {
-      $args[] = "--$key=$value";
+      if (($value === TRUE) || (!isset($value))) {
+        $args[] = "--$key";
+      }
+      else {
+        $args[] = "--$key=$value";
+      }
     }
   }
   return $args;