diff --git a/base/abstractarray.jl b/base/abstractarray.jl
index 2508e0f9ae007a..aa8bfbeeb887b9 100644
--- a/base/abstractarray.jl
+++ b/base/abstractarray.jl
@@ -75,13 +75,29 @@ linearindexing{A<:Array}(::Type{A}) = LinearFast()
 linearindexing{A<:Range}(::Type{A}) = LinearFast()
 
 ## Bounds checking ##
-_checkbounds(sz::Int, i::Int, A::AbstractArray, J...) = 1 <= i <= sz || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
-_checkbounds(sz::Int, i::Real, A::AbstractArray, J...) = _checkbounds(sz, to_index(i), A, J...)
-_checkbounds(sz::Int, I::AbstractVector{Bool}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = length(I) == sz || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
-_checkbounds(sz::Int, r::Range{Int}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = isempty(r) || (minimum(r) >= 1 && maximum(r) <= sz) || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
-_checkbounds{T<:Real}(sz::Int, r::Range{T}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = _checkbounds(sz, to_index(r), A, J...)
-
-function _checkbounds{T <: Real}(sz::Int, I::AbstractArray{T}, A::AbstractArray, J...)
+# note: we force inlining of all _checkbounds methods in order to force splatting
+#       of the arguments and avoid allocating tuples (unless a BoundsError is raised).
+#       we can't use @inline at this stage in the build process, since it indirectly uses
+#       _checkbounds itself (see expr.jl), so we define a crude version
+macro _crude_inline(f)
+    body = arrayref(f.args, 2)
+    oldargs = body.args
+    newargs = Array(Any, arraylen(oldargs) + 1)
+    arrayset(newargs, convert(Any, Expr(:meta, :inline)), 1)
+    for i = 1:arraylen(oldargs)
+        arrayset(newargs, convert(Any, arrayref(oldargs, i)), i+1)
+    end
+    body.args = newargs
+    esc(f)
+end
+
+@_crude_inline _checkbounds(sz::Int, i::Int, A::AbstractArray, J...) = 1 <= i <= sz || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
+@_crude_inline _checkbounds(sz::Int, i::Real, A::AbstractArray, J...) = _checkbounds(sz, to_index(i), A, J...)
+@_crude_inline _checkbounds(sz::Int, I::AbstractVector{Bool}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = length(I) == sz || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
+@_crude_inline _checkbounds(sz::Int, r::Range{Int}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = isempty(r) || (minimum(r) >= 1 && maximum(r) <= sz) || throw(BoundsError(A, J))
+@_crude_inline _checkbounds{T<:Real}(sz::Int, r::Range{T}, A::AbstractArray, J...) = _checkbounds(sz, to_index(r), A, J...)
+
+@_crude_inline function _checkbounds{T <: Real}(sz::Int, I::AbstractArray{T}, A::AbstractArray, J...)
     for i in I
         _checkbounds(sz, i, A, J...)
     end
diff --git a/base/base.jl b/base/base.jl
index daf59b0f9433aa..f61575b0ec13f8 100644
--- a/base/base.jl
+++ b/base/base.jl
@@ -5,8 +5,18 @@ typealias Callable Union(Function,DataType)
 const Bottom = Union()
 
 # constructors for Core types in boot.jl
+call(T::Type{Expr}, args::ANY...) = _expr(args...)
 call(T::Type{BoundsError}) = Core.call(T)
-call(T::Type{BoundsError}, args...) = Core.call(T, args...)
+#   note: manual @noinline to avoid tuple allocations unless an error actually occurs
+#         the following should do:
+#             @noinline call(T::Type{BoundsError}, args...) = Core.call(T, args...)
+#         except we can't use @noinline at this stage
+eval(:(function call(T::Type{BoundsError}, args...)
+        $(Expr(:meta, :noinline))
+        begin
+            Core.call(T, args...)
+        end
+    end))
 call(T::Type{DivideError}) = Core.call(T)
 call(T::Type{DomainError}) = Core.call(T)
 call(T::Type{OverflowError}) = Core.call(T)
@@ -22,7 +32,6 @@ call(T::Type{ASCIIString}, d::Array{UInt8,1}) = Core.call(T, d)
 call(T::Type{UTF8String}, d::Array{UInt8,1}) = Core.call(T, d)
 call(T::Type{TypeVar}, args...) = Core.call(T, args...)
 call(T::Type{TypeConstructor}, args...) = Core.call(T, args...)
-call(T::Type{Expr}, args::ANY...) = _expr(args...)
 call(T::Type{LineNumberNode}, n::Int) = Core.call(T, n)
 call(T::Type{LabelNode}, n::Int) = Core.call(T, n)
 call(T::Type{GotoNode}, n::Int) = Core.call(T, n)