diff --git a/docs/wiki/Mobile-Guide.md b/docs/wiki/Mobile-Guide.md
index bc986b5e..a8f47aaf 100644
--- a/docs/wiki/Mobile-Guide.md
+++ b/docs/wiki/Mobile-Guide.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ the hinge, and opening or closing the device is treated as the device changing s
 as the keyboard appearing.
 
 **Swipe left and right** on the terminal to switch sessions. A visible text selection pauses
-the swipe, and a terminal wider than the screen pans sideways instead of switching.
+the swipe, and a terminal wider than the screen pans sideways instead.
 
 ## The home screen
 
diff --git a/src/web/public/terminal-ui.js b/src/web/public/terminal-ui.js
index c4a7e846..c3778ffe 100644
--- a/src/web/public/terminal-ui.js
+++ b/src/web/public/terminal-ui.js
@@ -1233,7 +1233,8 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
       // slop, so a diagonal drag cannot pan and scroll at the same time. 'swipe'
       // is a sideways drag on a terminal that cannot pan: it is the session
       // swipe's (SwipeHandler, mobile-handlers.js), so it neither scrolls nor
-      // ends as a tap on the session being left. Published per gesture as
+      // ends as a tap on the session being left, until it drifts past the
+      // swipe's vertical limit and becomes a 'y' scroll. Published per gesture as
       // `this._terminalGestureAxis`, which SwipeHandler reads to stand aside
       // for a scroll or a pan.
       let panAxis = null;
@@ -1370,7 +1371,8 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
             ev.preventDefault();
             if (panAxis === 'swipe') {
               // Past the swipe's own vertical drift limit the session swipe has
-              // given up, so the drag is a scroll after all: hand it to 'y'.
+              // given up, so the drag is a scroll after all (a thumb arc whose
+              // first move leaned sideways): hand it to 'y'.
               const drift = typeof SwipeHandler !== 'undefined' ? SwipeHandler.maxVerticalDrift : 50;
               if (Math.abs(touchY - touchStartY) <= drift) return;
               panAxis = 'y';
diff --git a/test/session-swipe-gesture.test.ts b/test/session-swipe-gesture.test.ts
index af8143a2..91d9757a 100644
--- a/test/session-swipe-gesture.test.ts
+++ b/test/session-swipe-gesture.test.ts
@@ -147,15 +147,20 @@ describe('terminal touch handler hands sideways drags to the swipe', () => {
   it('locks a dominant sideways drag as a swipe unless the terminal can pan', () => {
     expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain("panAxis = travelX > travelY ? (canPanHorizontally() ? 'x' : 'swipe') : 'y';");
     expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain('this._terminalGestureAxis = panAxis;');
-    // A 'swipe' is neither a scroll nor (didScroll is set) a tap, until the
-    // finger passes the swipe's own vertical drift limit: the swipe has given
-    // up by then, so the drag is handed back to the scroll.
+    // A 'swipe' is neither a scroll nor (didScroll is set) a tap.
     expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain("if (panAxis === 'swipe') {");
-    expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain(
-      "const drift = typeof SwipeHandler !== 'undefined' ? SwipeHandler.maxVerticalDrift : 50;"
-    );
-    expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain('if (Math.abs(touchY - touchStartY) <= drift) return;');
-    expect(TERMINAL_SOURCE).toContain("this._terminalGestureAxis = 'y';");
+  });
+
+  it("hands a 'swipe' drag back to the scroll once it passes the swipe's own drift limit", () => {
+    // A thumb arc whose first move leans sideways (+9 px across, +5 px down) locks
+    // as 'swipe'; SwipeHandler drops it past maxVerticalDrift, so without the
+    // handback the 300 px of downward travel that follows would do nothing.
+    const start = TERMINAL_SOURCE.indexOf("if (panAxis === 'swipe') {");
+    const block = TERMINAL_SOURCE.slice(start, TERMINAL_SOURCE.indexOf("if (panAxis === 'x') {", start));
+    expect(block).toContain('SwipeHandler.maxVerticalDrift');
+    expect(block).toContain('if (Math.abs(touchY - touchStartY) <= drift) return;');
+    expect(block).toContain("panAxis = 'y';");
+    expect(block).toContain("this._terminalGestureAxis = 'y';");
     // The terminal reads the swipe's limit by name; its fallback is the same value.
     expect(load().swipe.maxVerticalDrift).toBe(50);
   });