diff --git a/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/SKILL.md
index 05b11a63..9a70bd72 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/SKILL.md
@@ -380,6 +380,14 @@ addressed threads with "Resolve conversation"; a reply carries the
 correction, the measurement, or nothing. A concise what and why belongs in
 the commit body, not the thread.
 
+A reply that hands the choice back to the reviewer is the same artifact in
+a politer form. "If you would rather the source read uniformly one way or
+the other, say so and I will move the remaining three" asks for an
+instruction where a technical answer belongs ("Let's concentrate on real
+discussions!", PR#350). A tradeoff already measured is settled in the
+reply, with the measurement as the reason. Ask the reviewer a question only
+where the code leaves one open.
+
 The body is intent plus reproduction and commands: for a bug, a minimal
 reproduction with host macOS and SDK version, hardware, and `make check`
 status (PR#21, PR#41); for a performance claim, A/B benchmarks on a named
diff --git a/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/references/prose-register.md b/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/references/prose-register.md
index 673fc18f..3e0f37ec 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/references/prose-register.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/elfuse-conventions/references/prose-register.md
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ State the fact and stop:
 - Effort and flattery: "carefully reviewed", "comprehensive", "thoroughly
   tested", "Great catch", "You're absolutely right". Effort is not a
   finding; name what ran and what it reported.
+- Deferral and self-report: an offer to redo the work another way ("say so
+  and I will", "happy to split this"), an apology for a correction, or an
+  announcement of candor before a caveat that stands on its own ("worth
+  flagging rather than hiding"). State the decision and the reason that
+  settles it; a reviewer who disagrees says so without being invited.
 - Formatting as emphasis in docs and PR text: bolded bullet-header runs
   where a paragraph belongs, decorative rules, emoji.
 - Machine artifacts, defects on sight: zero-width and bidi characters,