diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 634b60815..8d29d8f7f 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ export(skip_on_covr)
 export(skip_on_cran)
 export(skip_on_os)
 export(skip_on_travis)
+export(skip_unless_r)
 export(snapshot_accept)
 export(snapshot_review)
 export(source_dir)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 60085f5fc..af1344472 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 * `expect_s4_class()` now supports unquoting (@stibu81, #2064).
 * `it()` now finds the correct evaluation environment in more cases (@averissimo, #2085).
 * Fixed an issue preventing compilation from succeeding due to deprecation / removal of `std::uncaught_exception()` (@kevinushey, #2047).
+* New `skip_unless_r()` to skip running tests on unsuitable versions of R, e.g. `skip_unless_r(">= 4.1.0")` to skip tests that require, say, `...names` (@MichaelChirico, #2022)
 
 # testthat 3.2.3
 
diff --git a/R/expect-self-test.R b/R/expect-self-test.R
index 0cd8dbbe7..74e220e9d 100644
--- a/R/expect-self-test.R
+++ b/R/expect-self-test.R
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ expect_no_failure <- function(expr) {
 expect_snapshot_skip <- function(x, cran = FALSE) {
   expect_snapshot_error(x, class = "skip", cran = cran)
 }
+expect_skip <- function(code) {
+  expect_condition(code, class = "skip")
+}
 expect_no_skip <- function(code) {
   expect_no_condition(code, class = "skip")
 }
diff --git a/R/skip.R b/R/skip.R
index 6dba4885b..1ad1de7ed 100644
--- a/R/skip.R
+++ b/R/skip.R
@@ -126,6 +126,30 @@ package_version <- function(x) {
   utils::packageVersion(x)
 }
 
+#' @export
+#' @param spec A version specification like '>= 4.1.0' denoting that this test
+#'   should only be run on R versions 4.1.0 and later.
+#' @rdname skip
+skip_unless_r <- function(spec) {
+  parts <- unlist(strsplit(spec, " ", fixed = TRUE))
+  if (length(parts) != 2L) {
+    cli::cli_abort("{.arg spec} should be a comparison like '>=' and an R version separated by a space.")
+  }
+  comparator <- match.fun(parts[1L])
+  required_version <- numeric_version(parts[2L])
+
+  current_version <- getRversion()
+  skip_if_not(
+    comparator(current_version, required_version),
+    sprintf(
+      "Current R version (%s) does not satisfy requirement (%s %s)",
+      current_version, parts[1L], required_version
+    )
+  )
+}
+# for mocking
+getRversion <- NULL
+
 #' @export
 #' @rdname skip
 skip_if_offline <- function(host = "captive.apple.com") {
diff --git a/man/skip.Rd b/man/skip.Rd
index 2537a96f4..911db42f2 100644
--- a/man/skip.Rd
+++ b/man/skip.Rd
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 \alias{skip_if_not}
 \alias{skip_if}
 \alias{skip_if_not_installed}
+\alias{skip_unless_r}
 \alias{skip_if_offline}
 \alias{skip_on_cran}
 \alias{skip_on_os}
@@ -22,6 +23,8 @@ skip_if(condition, message = NULL)
 
 skip_if_not_installed(pkg, minimum_version = NULL)
 
+skip_unless_r(spec)
+
 skip_if_offline(host = "captive.apple.com")
 
 skip_on_cran()
@@ -46,6 +49,9 @@ skip_if_translated(msgid = "'\%s' not found")
 
 \item{minimum_version}{Minimum required version for the package}
 
+\item{spec}{A version specification like '>= 4.1.0' denoting that this test
+should only be run on R versions 4.1.0 and later.}
+
 \item{host}{A string with a hostname to lookup}
 
 \item{os}{Character vector of one or more operating systems to skip on.
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/skip.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/skip.md
index 4756a3cbb..c9247c7d4 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/skip.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/skip.md
@@ -88,3 +88,11 @@
 
     Reason: On Windows i386
 
+# skip_unless_r gives the expected output
+
+    Reason: Current R version (4.5.0) does not satisfy requirement (>= 999.999.999)
+
+---
+
+    Reason: Current R version (4.5.0) does not satisfy requirement (== 0.0.0)
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-skip.R b/tests/testthat/test-skip.R
index cd224d96d..ff970078e 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-skip.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-skip.R
@@ -135,3 +135,22 @@ test_that("can refine os with arch", {
   expect_no_skip(skip_on_os("windows", "x86_64"))
   expect_no_skip(skip_on_os("linux", "i386"))
 })
+
+test_that("skip_unless_r works as expected", {
+  expect_no_skip(skip_unless_r(">= 0.0.0"))
+  expect_no_skip(skip_unless_r(paste("==", getRversion())))
+  expect_no_skip(skip_unless_r("<= 999.999.999"))
+
+  expect_skip(skip_unless_r(">= 999.999.999"))
+  expect_skip(skip_unless_r("== 0.0.0"))
+  expect_skip(skip_unless_r("<= 0.0.0"))
+
+  expect_error(skip_unless_r("idfjdij"), "should be a comparison like '>='", fixed = TRUE)
+})
+
+test_that("skip_unless_r gives the expected output", {
+  local_mocked_bindings(getRversion = \() numeric_version("4.5.0"))
+
+  expect_snapshot_skip(skip_unless_r(">= 999.999.999"))
+  expect_snapshot_skip(skip_unless_r("== 0.0.0"))
+})