diff --git a/src/backlight/backlight.c b/src/backlight/backlight.c
index a866c68823..780ad56eb1 100644
--- a/src/backlight/backlight.c
+++ b/src/backlight/backlight.c
@@ -44,9 +44,7 @@ static int find_pci_or_platform_parent(sd_device *device, sd_device **ret) {
                 c += strspn(c, DIGITS);
                 if (*c == '-') {
                         /* A connector DRM device, let's ignore all but LVDS and eDP! */
-
-                        if (!startswith(c, "-LVDS-") &&
-                            !startswith(c, "-Embedded DisplayPort-"))
+                        if (!STARTSWITH_SET(c, "-LVDS-", "-Embedded DisplayPort-"))
                                 return -EOPNOTSUPP;
                 }
 
diff --git a/src/basic/cgroup-util.c b/src/basic/cgroup-util.c
index 3f94602c8f..ec29a6f4c9 100644
--- a/src/basic/cgroup-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/cgroup-util.c
@@ -1852,9 +1852,7 @@ char *cg_escape(const char *p) {
          * needs free()! */
 
         if (IN_SET(p[0], 0, '_', '.') ||
-            streq(p, "notify_on_release") ||
-            streq(p, "release_agent") ||
-            streq(p, "tasks") ||
+            STR_IN_SET(p, "notify_on_release", "release_agent", "tasks") ||
             startswith(p, "cgroup."))
                 need_prefix = true;
         else {
diff --git a/src/basic/path-util.c b/src/basic/path-util.c
index 2deb176240..eb64c886e6 100644
--- a/src/basic/path-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/path-util.c
@@ -919,8 +919,7 @@ bool valid_device_allow_pattern(const char *path) {
         /* Like valid_device_node_path(), but also allows full-subsystem expressions, like DeviceAllow= and DeviceDeny=
          * accept it */
 
-        if (startswith(path, "block-") ||
-            startswith(path, "char-"))
+        if (STARTSWITH_SET(path, "block-", "char-"))
                 return true;
 
         return valid_device_node_path(path);
diff --git a/src/basic/path-util.h b/src/basic/path-util.h
index 52a93b1c3f..e2a51ff33a 100644
--- a/src/basic/path-util.h
+++ b/src/basic/path-util.h
@@ -71,13 +71,13 @@ static inline bool path_equal_ptr(const char *a, const char *b) {
 
 #define PATH_STARTSWITH_SET(p, ...)                             \
         ({                                                      \
-                char **s;                                       \
-                bool _found = false;                            \
-                STRV_FOREACH(s, STRV_MAKE(__VA_ARGS__))         \
-                        if (path_startswith(p, *s)) {           \
-                               _found = true;                   \
-                               break;                           \
-                        }                                       \
+                const char *_p = (p);                           \
+                char *_found = NULL, **_i;                      \
+                STRV_FOREACH(_i, STRV_MAKE(__VA_ARGS__)) {      \
+                        _found = path_startswith(_p, *_i);      \
+                        if (_found)                             \
+                                break;                          \
+                }                                               \
                 _found;                                         \
         })
 
diff --git a/src/basic/strv.h b/src/basic/strv.h
index 5f1803d87d..aa4cd4aaca 100644
--- a/src/basic/strv.h
+++ b/src/basic/strv.h
@@ -144,6 +144,18 @@ void strv_print(char **l);
                 _x && strv_contains(STRV_MAKE(__VA_ARGS__), _x); \
         })
 
+#define STARTSWITH_SET(p, ...)                                  \
+        ({                                                      \
+                const char *_p = (p);                           \
+                char  *_found = NULL, **_i;                     \
+                STRV_FOREACH(_i, STRV_MAKE(__VA_ARGS__)) {      \
+                        _found = startswith(_p, *_i);           \
+                        if (_found)                             \
+                                break;                          \
+                }                                               \
+                _found;                                         \
+        })
+
 #define FOREACH_STRING(x, ...)                               \
         for (char **_l = ({                                  \
                 char **_ll = STRV_MAKE(__VA_ARGS__);         \
diff --git a/src/basic/terminal-util.c b/src/basic/terminal-util.c
index 7fce84bf82..a5e4de00b0 100644
--- a/src/basic/terminal-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/terminal-util.c
@@ -1014,11 +1014,8 @@ int get_ctty(pid_t pid, dev_t *_devnr, char **r) {
                                 return -ENOMEM;
                 }
         } else {
-                if (startswith(s, "/dev/"))
-                        p = s + 5;
-                else if (startswith(s, "../"))
-                        p = s + 3;
-                else
+                p = PATH_STARTSWITH_SET(s, "/dev/", "../");
+                if (!p)
                         p = s;
 
                 b = strdup(p);
diff --git a/src/basic/time-util.c b/src/basic/time-util.c
index 30ad83d0a7..f1f52f1beb 100644
--- a/src/basic/time-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/time-util.c
@@ -1384,9 +1384,7 @@ int get_timezone(char **tz) {
         if (r < 0)
                 return r; /* returns EINVAL if not a symlink */
 
-        e = path_startswith(t, "/usr/share/zoneinfo/");
-        if (!e)
-                e = path_startswith(t, "../usr/share/zoneinfo/");
+        e = PATH_STARTSWITH_SET(t, "/usr/share/zoneinfo/", "../usr/share/zoneinfo/");
         if (!e)
                 return -EINVAL;
 
diff --git a/src/core/load-fragment.c b/src/core/load-fragment.c
index efefdaed99..ce222e4023 100644
--- a/src/core/load-fragment.c
+++ b/src/core/load-fragment.c
@@ -3242,7 +3242,7 @@ int config_parse_device_allow(
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        if (!startswith(resolved, "block-") && !startswith(resolved, "char-")) {
+        if (!STARTSWITH_SET(resolved, "block-", "char-")) {
 
                 r = path_simplify_and_warn(resolved, 0, unit, filename, line, lvalue);
                 if (r < 0)
diff --git a/src/core/umount.c b/src/core/umount.c
index 9e6c404ab9..bd4e4e7257 100644
--- a/src/core/umount.c
+++ b/src/core/umount.c
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include "process-util.h"
 #include "signal-util.h"
 #include "string-util.h"
+#include "strv.h"
 #include "umount.h"
 #include "util.h"
 #include "virt.h"
diff --git a/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup-generator.c b/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup-generator.c
index 7da13dc207..b0b1065e2f 100644
--- a/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup-generator.c
+++ b/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup-generator.c
@@ -510,11 +510,9 @@ static int add_crypttab_devices(void) {
                         continue;
                 }
 
-                uuid = startswith(device, "UUID=");
+                uuid = STARTSWITH_SET(device, "UUID=", "luks-");
                 if (!uuid)
                         uuid = path_startswith(device, "/dev/disk/by-uuid/");
-                if (!uuid)
-                        uuid = startswith(name, "luks-");
                 if (uuid)
                         d = hashmap_get(arg_disks, uuid);
 
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote-main.c b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote-main.c
index 44f3450d87..c46e0acdd3 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote-main.c
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote-main.c
@@ -614,15 +614,14 @@ static int create_remoteserver(
 
         if (arg_url) {
                 const char *url;
-                char *hostname, *p;
+                char *hostname;
 
                 if (!strstr(arg_url, "/entries")) {
                         if (endswith(arg_url, "/"))
                                 url = strjoina(arg_url, "entries");
                         else
                                 url = strjoina(arg_url, "/entries");
-                }
-                else
+                } else
                         url = strdupa(arg_url);
 
                 log_info("Spawning curl %s...", url);
@@ -630,16 +629,11 @@ static int create_remoteserver(
                 if (fd < 0)
                         return fd;
 
-                hostname =
-                        startswith(arg_url, "https://") ?:
-                        startswith(arg_url, "http://") ?:
-                        arg_url;
+                hostname = STARTSWITH_SET(arg_url, "https://", "http://");
+                if (!hostname)
+                        hostname = arg_url;
 
-                hostname = strdupa(hostname);
-                if ((p = strchr(hostname, '/')))
-                        *p = '\0';
-                if ((p = strchr(hostname, ':')))
-                        *p = '\0';
+                hostname = strndupa(hostname, strcspn(hostname, "/:"));
 
                 r = journal_remote_add_source(s, fd, hostname, false);
                 if (r < 0)
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
index f7b91fddde..924ea4936e 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include "sigbus.h"
 #include "signal-util.h"
 #include "string-util.h"
+#include "strv.h"
 #include "util.h"
 
 #define PRIV_KEY_FILE CERTIFICATE_ROOT "/private/journal-upload.pem"
@@ -405,10 +406,12 @@ static int setup_uploader(Uploader *u, const char *url, const char *state_file)
         assert(u);
         assert(url);
 
-        memzero(u, sizeof(Uploader));
-        u->input = -1;
+        *u = (Uploader) {
+                .input = -1
+        };
 
-        if (!(host = startswith(url, "http://")) && !(host = startswith(url, "https://"))) {
+        host = STARTSWITH_SET(url, "http://", "https://");
+        if (!host) {
                 host = url;
                 proto = "https://";
         }
diff --git a/src/journal/journald-native.c b/src/journal/journald-native.c
index 7dd9ca62d5..5ea4601ba3 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald-native.c
+++ b/src/journal/journald-native.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include "selinux-util.h"
 #include "socket-util.h"
 #include "string-util.h"
+#include "strv.h"
 #include "unaligned.h"
 
 static bool allow_object_pid(const struct ucred *ucred) {
@@ -337,11 +338,7 @@ void server_process_native_file(
                         return;
                 }
 
-                e = path_startswith(k, "/dev/shm/");
-                if (!e)
-                        e = path_startswith(k, "/tmp/");
-                if (!e)
-                        e = path_startswith(k, "/var/tmp/");
+                e = PATH_STARTSWITH_SET(k, "/dev/shm/", "/tmp/", "/var/tmp/");
                 if (!e) {
                         log_error("Received file outside of allowed directories. Refusing.");
                         return;
diff --git a/src/journal/sd-journal.c b/src/journal/sd-journal.c
index a81e0e94c7..952f67a0d9 100644
--- a/src/journal/sd-journal.c
+++ b/src/journal/sd-journal.c
@@ -1183,8 +1183,7 @@ static bool file_has_type_prefix(const char *prefix, const char *filename) {
         tilded = strjoina(full, "~");
         atted = strjoina(prefix, "@");
 
-        return streq(filename, full) ||
-               streq(filename, tilded) ||
+        return STR_IN_SET(filename, full, tilded) ||
                startswith(filename, atted);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/login/logind-core.c b/src/login/logind-core.c
index 2bab2fd2f5..60831bb1c3 100644
--- a/src/login/logind-core.c
+++ b/src/login/logind-core.c
@@ -606,9 +606,8 @@ static int manager_count_external_displays(Manager *m) {
                 return r;
 
         FOREACH_DEVICE(e, d) {
+                const char *status, *enabled, *dash, *nn, *subsys;
                 sd_device *p;
-                const char *status, *enabled, *dash, *nn, *i, *subsys;
-                bool external = false;
 
                 if (sd_device_get_parent(d, &p) < 0)
                         continue;
@@ -631,16 +630,10 @@ static int manager_count_external_displays(Manager *m) {
                         continue;
 
                 dash++;
-                FOREACH_STRING(i, "VGA-", "DVI-I-", "DVI-D-", "DVI-A-"
-                               "Composite-", "SVIDEO-", "Component-",
-                               "DIN-", "DP-", "HDMI-A-", "HDMI-B-", "TV-") {
-
-                        if (startswith(dash, i)) {
-                                external = true;
-                                break;
-                        }
-                }
-                if (!external)
+                if (!STARTSWITH_SET(dash,
+                                    "VGA-", "DVI-I-", "DVI-D-", "DVI-A-"
+                                    "Composite-", "SVIDEO-", "Component-",
+                                    "DIN-", "DP-", "HDMI-A-", "HDMI-B-", "TV-"))
                         continue;
 
                 /* Ignore ports that are not enabled */
diff --git a/src/nspawn/nspawn.c b/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
index 47fe7d4865..c581514b29 100644
--- a/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
+++ b/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
@@ -1427,17 +1427,10 @@ static int userns_mkdir(const char *root, const char *path, mode_t mode, uid_t u
 }
 
 static const char *timezone_from_path(const char *path) {
-        const char *z;
-
-        z = path_startswith(path, "../usr/share/zoneinfo/");
-        if (z)
-                return z;
-
-        z = path_startswith(path, "/usr/share/zoneinfo/");
-        if (z)
-                return z;
-
-        return NULL;
+        return PATH_STARTSWITH_SET(
+                        path,
+                        "../usr/share/zoneinfo/",
+                        "/usr/share/zoneinfo/");
 }
 
 static int setup_timezone(const char *dest) {
diff --git a/src/run/run.c b/src/run/run.c
index 0475156a43..e9e31282b6 100644
--- a/src/run/run.c
+++ b/src/run/run.c
@@ -384,12 +384,13 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                                 return log_oom();
 
                         with_timer = with_timer ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnActiveSec=") ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnBootSec=") ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnStartupSec=") ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnUnitActiveSec=") ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnUnitInactiveSec=") ||
-                                !!startswith(optarg, "OnCalendar=");
+                                STARTSWITH_SET(optarg,
+                                               "OnActiveSec=",
+                                               "OnBootSec=",
+                                               "OnStartupSec=",
+                                               "OnUnitActiveSec=",
+                                               "OnUnitInactiveSec=",
+                                               "OnCalendar=");
                         break;
 
                 case ARG_PATH_PROPERTY:
diff --git a/src/shared/acl-util.c b/src/shared/acl-util.c
index 1eaf653103..6f0657174c 100644
--- a/src/shared/acl-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/acl-util.c
@@ -219,14 +219,11 @@ int parse_acl(const char *text, acl_t *acl_access, acl_t *acl_default, bool want
         STRV_FOREACH(entry, split) {
                 char *p;
 
-                p = startswith(*entry, "default:");
+                p = STARTSWITH_SET(*entry, "default:", "d:");
                 if (!p)
-                        p = startswith(*entry, "d:");
+                        p = *entry;
 
-                if (p)
-                        r = strv_push(&d, p);
-                else
-                        r = strv_push(&a, *entry);
+                r = strv_push(&d, p);
                 if (r < 0)
                         return r;
         }
diff --git a/src/shared/web-util.c b/src/shared/web-util.c
index 82221af194..edf650d200 100644
--- a/src/shared/web-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/web-util.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include <stdbool.h>
 
 #include "string-util.h"
+#include "strv.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 #include "web-util.h"
 
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ bool http_etag_is_valid(const char *etag) {
         if (!endswith(etag, "\""))
                 return false;
 
-        if (!startswith(etag, "\"") && !startswith(etag, "W/\""))
+        if (!STARTSWITH_SET(etag, "\"", "W/\""))
                 return false;
 
         return true;
@@ -25,9 +26,7 @@ bool http_url_is_valid(const char *url) {
         if (isempty(url))
                 return false;
 
-        p = startswith(url, "http://");
-        if (!p)
-                p = startswith(url, "https://");
+        p = STARTSWITH_SET(url, "http://", "https://");
         if (!p)
                 return false;
 
@@ -46,12 +45,7 @@ bool documentation_url_is_valid(const char *url) {
         if (http_url_is_valid(url))
                 return true;
 
-        p = startswith(url, "file:/");
-        if (!p)
-                p = startswith(url, "info:");
-        if (!p)
-                p = startswith(url, "man:");
-
+        p = STARTSWITH_SET(url, "file:/", "info:", "man:");
         if (isempty(p))
                 return false;
 
diff --git a/src/test/test-path-util.c b/src/test/test-path-util.c
index fd5f598701..b5030ea494 100644
--- a/src/test/test-path-util.c
+++ b/src/test/test-path-util.c
@@ -506,6 +506,27 @@ static void test_empty_or_root(void) {
         assert_se(!empty_or_root("//yy//"));
 }
 
+static void test_path_startswith_set(void) {
+
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo/bar", "/zzz"), ""));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo/", "/zzz"), "bar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo", "/zzz"), "bar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar", "/foo/quux", "/", "/zzz"), "foo/bar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar", "/foo/quux", "", "/zzz"), NULL));
+
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar2", "/foo/quux", "/foo/bar", "/zzz"), NULL));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar2", "/foo/quux", "/foo/", "/zzz"), "bar2"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar2", "/foo/quux", "/foo", "/zzz"), "bar2"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar2", "/foo/quux", "/", "/zzz"), "foo/bar2"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo/bar2", "/foo/quux", "", "/zzz"), NULL));
+
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo2/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo/bar", "/zzz"), NULL));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo2/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo/", "/zzz"), NULL));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo2/bar", "/foo/quux", "/foo", "/zzz"), NULL));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo2/bar", "/foo/quux", "/", "/zzz"), "foo2/bar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(PATH_STARTSWITH_SET("/foo2/bar", "/foo/quux", "", "/zzz"), NULL));
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char **argv) {
         test_setup_logging(LOG_DEBUG);
 
@@ -525,6 +546,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
         test_hidden_or_backup_file();
         test_skip_dev_prefix();
         test_empty_or_root();
+        test_path_startswith_set();
 
         test_systemd_installation_has_version(argv[1]); /* NULL is OK */
 
diff --git a/src/test/test-strv.c b/src/test/test-strv.c
index 63757afdce..31ef1abb44 100644
--- a/src/test/test-strv.c
+++ b/src/test/test-strv.c
@@ -56,6 +56,20 @@ static void test_strptr_in_set(void) {
         assert_se(!STRPTR_IN_SET(NULL, NULL));
 }
 
+static void test_startswith_set(void) {
+        assert_se(!STARTSWITH_SET("foo", "bar", "baz", "waldo"));
+        assert_se(!STARTSWITH_SET("foo", "bar"));
+
+        assert_se(STARTSWITH_SET("abc", "a", "ab", "abc"));
+        assert_se(STARTSWITH_SET("abc", "ax", "ab", "abc"));
+        assert_se(STARTSWITH_SET("abc", "ax", "abx", "abc"));
+        assert_se(!STARTSWITH_SET("abc", "ax", "abx", "abcx"));
+
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(STARTSWITH_SET("foobar", "hhh", "kkk", "foo", "zzz"), "bar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(STARTSWITH_SET("foobar", "hhh", "kkk", "", "zzz"), "foobar"));
+        assert_se(streq_ptr(STARTSWITH_SET("", "hhh", "kkk", "zzz", ""), ""));
+}
+
 static const char* const input_table_multiple[] = {
         "one",
         "two",
@@ -847,6 +861,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         test_specifier_printf();
         test_str_in_set();
         test_strptr_in_set();
+        test_startswith_set();
         test_strv_foreach();
         test_strv_foreach_backwards();
         test_strv_foreach_pair();
diff --git a/src/udev/udevd.c b/src/udev/udevd.c
index 6eacfe811f..9c8e7f977f 100644
--- a/src/udev/udevd.c
+++ b/src/udev/udevd.c
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
 #include "signal-util.h"
 #include "socket-util.h"
 #include "string-util.h"
+#include "strv.h"
 #include "strxcpyx.h"
 #include "syslog-util.h"
 #include "udev-builtin.h"
@@ -361,9 +362,7 @@ static int worker_lock_block_device(sd_device *dev, int *ret_fd) {
         if (r < 0)
                 return log_device_debug_errno(dev, r, "Failed to get sysname: %m");
 
-        if (startswith(val, "dm-") ||
-            startswith(val, "md") ||
-            startswith(val, "drbd"))
+        if (STARTSWITH_SET(val, "dm-", "md", "drbd"))
                 return 0;
 
         r = sd_device_get_devtype(dev, &val);