The linear response of the wall-shear stress of a turbulent flow to wall waviness is analyzed in the context of a comparison between existing experiments, direct numerical simulations, and analytical approximations. The spectral region where the response is largest is found to be amenable to a simplified quasilaminar analysis. The end result is a parameterless description of this phenomenon that completely captures its physics in a single analytical formula, a Padé approximation of the response function.