diff --git a/docs/decisions/ADR-0174-held-hypothesis-comprehension.md b/docs/decisions/ADR-0174-held-hypothesis-comprehension.md
index 763a235c..88a5270e 100644
--- a/docs/decisions/ADR-0174-held-hypothesis-comprehension.md
+++ b/docs/decisions/ADR-0174-held-hypothesis-comprehension.md
@@ -292,3 +292,130 @@ This ADR moves to **Accepted** when:
 - **Thesis anchor**: [[thesis-decoding-not-generating]] — every change in this ADR must pass the "teach the engine to find, not store another found thing" gate.
 - **HITL corridor preserved**: ADR-0150 (contemplation), ADR-0152 (proposal), ADR-0155 (review), ADR-0161 (HITL queue), ADR-0172 (math-corpus decomposition).
 - **Anti-overfitting obligations**: ADR-0114a — held-hypothesis reads are evaluated against the same obligations as the existing pipeline; perturbation, OOD ratio, depth curve, and adversarial axes all apply.
+
+---
+
+## Implementation Notes (added 2026-05-28 after Phase 1-3a lookback review)
+
+The 2026-05-28 lookback review (per CLAUDE.md §Lookback Review Discipline)
+surfaced drift between this ADR's spec text and what Phases 1-3a
+actually shipped. Documenting honestly here so Phase 4-5 implementers
+work from accurate ground truth.
+
+### `reevaluate` signature — implementation differs from spec
+
+**ADR text (§Decision §2):**
+```text
+reevaluate(hypotheses, new_token, position) -> (refined_hypotheses, eliminations)
+```
+
+**As shipped (Phase 3a, PR #423):**
+```python
+reevaluate(hypothesis: Hypothesis, refinement: Refinement) -> ReevaluateResult
+```
+
+Differences and rationale:
+
+- Single hypothesis + refinement object, not hypothesis set + token+position.
+  More composable: refinement objects (`PronounResolution` etc.) are
+  reusable; the caller decides which hypotheses to apply to which
+  refinements.
+- Returns a single `ReevaluateResult` (refined-or-None plus
+  bookkeeping), not a (refined_hypotheses, eliminations) tuple.
+  Bulk-eliminate semantics belong on a higher-level orchestrator (not
+  yet built — Phase 4 work).
+
+The shipped design is preferred and the ADR text should be considered
+amended. Phase 4 implementers should follow the shipped signature.
+
+### Phase 2 is per-candidate, not per-token
+
+**ADR text (§Decision §3):**
+> Move them inside the reader so they fire per-token: After every EMIT,
+> run the in-flight constraint check against the partial hypothesis.
+
+**As shipped (Phase 2, PR #420):**
+Constraint propagation runs at the `math_candidate_graph` recognizer-
+injection site (per-candidate, after `inject_from_match` returns), not
+inside `lifecycle.apply_word` (per-token, during reading).
+
+This is a real substrate-vs-active-wiring gap. The check_constraints
+primitive is available; the per-token integration is Phase 5 work
+(legacy parser removal + apply_word refactor). Phase 2 is more
+honestly described as "constraint propagation substrate ready for
+per-token wiring in Phase 5."
+
+### Lookback recompute scope is candidate-level, not token-level
+
+**ADR text (§Decision §2):**
+> For each hypothesis, recomputes the category assignment of any *prior*
+> token whose role depended on the now-resolved ambiguity.
+
+**As shipped (Phase 3a, PR #423):**
+`PronounResolution` appends one `(0, "pronoun_resolved", pronoun)`
+entry to `Hypothesis.category_assignments` and rewrites the candidate's
+semantic actor field. It does not walk back through per-token
+assignments because Phase 1-3a's `category_assignments` is
+candidate-level, not token-level. Per-token category assignment
+becomes meaningful in Phase 5 (apply_word refactor).
+
+Phase 3b will widen this when compound-clause refinement enters
+(multiple per-clause assignments do need recompute walks).
+
+### Hypothesis.constraint_state is never populated by Phase 2
+
+The Phase 1 substrate carries `Hypothesis.constraint_state: tuple[tuple[str, str], ...]`
+for recording predicate outcomes. Phase 2's `check_constraints`
+populates `ConstraintResult.predicates_run` but does NOT copy that
+into `Hypothesis.constraint_state` on the survivors. Survivors carry
+forward their original (empty) constraint_state.
+
+Phase 4 (in-loop contemplation) may want to consult
+`constraint_state` to decide which evidence to seek. If so, Phase 4
+must wire the population step explicitly. Not a Phase 2 defect — it's
+a Phase 2 scope limit.
+
+### Multi-actor pronoun wrong=0 hazard defense (Phase 3a follow-up)
+
+The 2026-05-28 review surfaced a real wrong=0 hazard in Phase 3a's
+`PronounResolution` wiring: the `_discourse_prior_subjects` lookup is
+gender-blind and stores only most-recent-prior subject. In multi-actor
+problems ("Alice has 5. Bob has 3. She buys 2."), this could resolve
+"She" to "Bob" and produce wrong attribution.
+
+Fix landed in the same Phase 3a PR (PR #423): defensive
+`no_antecedent_ambiguous` refusal when more than one distinct
+proper-noun subject appears in prior context. Refusal-preferring
+discipline preserves `wrong = 0`.
+
+This is the prototype for refinement-quality gating that Phase 4 (in-
+loop contemplation) inherits: ambiguity that resolution cannot
+disambiguate is a refusal, not a guess.
+
+### LOC accounting
+
+The ADR §"What this collapses" projects "Net ~1,900 lines removed"
+once Phase 5 retires the legacy parser. Honest current state:
+
+- Phase 1 added ~243 lines (`state.py`)
+- Phase 2 added ~726 lines (`constraint_propagation.py` new module) +
+  ~50 lines `math_candidate_graph.py` wiring
+- Phase 3a added ~387 lines (`lookback.py` new module) + ~125 lines
+  `math_candidate_graph.py` wiring + ~15 lines `recognizer_match.py`
+
+**Phases 1-3a net: +1,500 lines added.** Phase 5 will remove
+math_parser.py (~1,100 lines) + per-category dispatch (~400 lines) +
+duplicate per-sentence-choice scaffolding (~300 lines) to reach the
+projected net removal.
+
+The substrate is correctly load-bearing; the line-count payoff is in
+Phase 5.
+
+### Test coverage backfill
+
+The lookback review found 13 of 17 `VALID_PREDICATE_NAMES` lacked
+direct predicate-name assertions in tests, and all 4
+`_check_composed_initial` sub-checks were untested (parity verified
+manually). Backfill landed in the same Phase 3a PR (10 new tests).
+
+---
diff --git a/generate/comprehension/lookback.py b/generate/comprehension/lookback.py
index 4dffe3d4..87a0cbc6 100644
--- a/generate/comprehension/lookback.py
+++ b/generate/comprehension/lookback.py
@@ -292,9 +292,13 @@ def reevaluate(
     hypothesis so trace serialisation can record the before/after pair.
     """
     # Dispatch on refinement kind. Phase 3a knows pronoun_resolution.
+    # The defensive raise below is unreachable today (the Refinement
+    # Union has one member), but it is correct future-proofing for
+    # Phase 3b's CompoundClauseExpansion and other refinement types —
+    # if a caller passes a non-Union type by accident, fail loudly.
     if isinstance(refinement, PronounResolution):
         return _apply_pronoun_resolution(hypothesis, refinement)
-    raise ComprehensionStateError(
+    raise ComprehensionStateError(  # type: ignore[unreachable]
         f"reevaluate: unsupported refinement type {type(refinement).__name__}"
     )
 
diff --git a/generate/math_candidate_graph.py b/generate/math_candidate_graph.py
index f06c2760..02ba546d 100644
--- a/generate/math_candidate_graph.py
+++ b/generate/math_candidate_graph.py
@@ -876,6 +876,29 @@ def parse_and_solve(
                                     break
 
                         _antecedent = _effective_prior
+                        # ADR-0174 Phase 3a — multi-actor pronoun
+                        # ambiguity defense.  When the problem has
+                        # more than one distinct proper-noun subject
+                        # in prior context, picking the most-recent
+                        # is a guess (e.g. "Alice has 5. Bob has 3.
+                        # She buys 2." — "She" should bind to Alice
+                        # by gender but the discourse map returns
+                        # Bob).  No safety net downstream would catch
+                        # a wrong attribution (single-binding
+                        # emission → no multi-branch disagreement;
+                        # verifier re-derives the same wrong graph).
+                        # Refuse rather than guess.  Surfaced by
+                        # 2026-05-28 Phase 1-3a lookback review;
+                        # see project-adr-0174-multi-actor-pronoun-hazard
+                        # memory and CLAUDE.md §Lookback Review
+                        # Discipline.
+                        _distinct_priors = {
+                            v for v in _discourse_prior_subjects.values()
+                            if v is not None
+                        }
+                        if _prior_subject is not None:
+                            _distinct_priors.add(_prior_subject)
+                        _multi_actor_ambiguous = len(_distinct_priors) > 1
                         if _held_pronoun is None or not _antecedent:
                             # No resolution path available — drop the
                             # held candidates and log the lookback
@@ -888,6 +911,21 @@ def parse_and_solve(
                                 "sentence_index": s_idx,
                             }, sort_keys=True))
                             injected = ()
+                        elif _multi_actor_ambiguous:
+                            # Refusal-preferring discipline: multiple
+                            # distinct proper-noun subjects in prior
+                            # context means the resolver would be
+                            # guessing.  Drop the held candidates,
+                            # log the ambiguous-antecedent event.
+                            _statement_trace.append(json.dumps({
+                                "layer": "lookback",
+                                "phase": 3,
+                                "outcome": "no_antecedent_ambiguous",
+                                "pronoun": _held_pronoun,
+                                "candidate_antecedents": sorted(_distinct_priors),
+                                "sentence_index": s_idx,
+                            }, sort_keys=True))
+                            injected = ()
                         else:
                             _refinement = PronounResolution(
                                 pronoun=_held_pronoun,
@@ -1013,11 +1051,17 @@ def parse_and_solve(
                             f"(category={recognizer_match.category.value})"
                         ),
                         branches_enumerated=0, branches_admissible=0,
+                        # ADR-0174 Phase 3a — preserve statement-stage
+                        # trace events on early refusal so consumers see
+                        # WHY admission failed (lookback no_antecedent,
+                        # constraint_propagation eliminations, etc.).
+                        reader_trace=tuple(_statement_trace),
                     )
             return CandidateGraphResult(
                 answer=None, selected_graph=None,
                 refusal_reason=f"no admissible candidate for statement: {s!r}",
                 branches_enumerated=0, branches_admissible=0,
+                reader_trace=tuple(_statement_trace),
             )
         per_sentence_choices.append(_collapse_per_sentence_ties(choices))
         # ME-2 — update prior_subject AFTER this sentence is processed.
diff --git a/tests/test_adr_0174_phase2_constraint_propagation.py b/tests/test_adr_0174_phase2_constraint_propagation.py
index b091c383..8cddad4d 100644
--- a/tests/test_adr_0174_phase2_constraint_propagation.py
+++ b/tests/test_adr_0174_phase2_constraint_propagation.py
@@ -248,6 +248,188 @@ class TestCheckConstraintsOperationParity:
         assert roundtrip_admissible(op) is False
 
 
+class TestCheckConstraintsInitialPredicateNames:
+    """Predicate-name assertions for every initial.* failure path.
+    Surfaced by 2026-05-28 lookback review — 13 of 17 predicates in
+    VALID_PREDICATE_NAMES lacked direct elimination-reason assertions."""
+
+    def test_initial_value_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        ic = _initial(matched_value_token="99")  # source has "3"
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "initial.value_grounds"
+
+    def test_initial_unit_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        ic = _initial(matched_unit_token="oranges")  # source has "apples"
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "initial.unit_grounds"
+
+    def test_initial_entity_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        ic = _initial(matched_entity_token="Tom")  # source has "Sam"
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "initial.entity_grounds"
+
+
+class TestCheckConstraintsOperationPredicateNames:
+    """Predicate-name assertions for every operation.* failure path."""
+
+    def test_operation_verb_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        # Verb registered for kind but not in source span — distinct
+        # from verb_registered failure.
+        op = CandidateOperation(
+            op=Operation(actor="Sam", kind="add",
+                         operand=Quantity(value=5, unit="apples")),
+            source_span="Sam now owns 5 apples.",  # 'buys' not in source
+            matched_verb="buys",
+            matched_value_token="5",
+            matched_unit_token="apples",
+            matched_actor_token="Sam",
+        )
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_operation(op, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "operation.verb_grounds"
+
+    def test_operation_value_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        op = _operation_add(
+            matched_value_token="99",  # source has "5"
+            source_span="Sam buys 5 apples.",
+        )
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_operation(op, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "operation.value_grounds"
+
+    def test_operation_unit_grounds_predicate_name(self) -> None:
+        op = _operation_add(
+            matched_unit_token="oranges",  # source has "apples"
+            source_span="Sam buys 5 apples.",
+        )
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_operation(op, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "operation.unit_grounds"
+
+
+class TestCheckConstraintsComposedInitialPath:
+    """The RAT-1 composed_initial path was completely untested before
+    2026-05-28 lookback review — parity was manually verified but no
+    automated test asserted the 4 sub-checks fire correctly."""
+
+    def _composed(self, **ev_overrides: str) -> CandidateInitial:
+        from generate.math_problem_graph import InitialPossession, Quantity
+        ev: dict[str, str] = {
+            "composition_shape": "bound(count) × bound(unit_cost)",
+            "input_tokens": "3|400",
+            "entity_source": "prior_sentence",
+            "currency_symbol": "$",
+        }
+        ev.update(ev_overrides)
+        return CandidateInitial(
+            initial=InitialPossession(
+                entity="John", quantity=Quantity(value=1200, unit="dollars"),
+            ),
+            source_span="3 vet appointments at $400 each",
+            matched_anchor="has",
+            matched_value_token="1200",
+            matched_unit_token="dollars",
+            matched_entity_token="John",
+            composition_evidence=ev,
+        )
+
+    def test_well_formed_composed_initial_admits(self) -> None:
+        ic = self._composed()
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is True
+        # All 4 sub-checks run (some may skip).
+        predicate_names = {p for p, _ in result.predicates_run}
+        assert "composed_initial.evidence_complete" in predicate_names
+        assert "composed_initial.input_tokens_ground" in predicate_names
+        assert "composed_initial.entity_token_present" in predicate_names
+
+    def test_composed_initial_missing_evidence_key_eliminated(self) -> None:
+        # Construct via dict mutation since the field is a Mapping
+        ev_partial = {
+            "composition_shape": "shape",
+            "input_tokens": "3|400",
+            # entity_source missing
+        }
+        ic = self._composed()
+        # Replace composition_evidence via dataclasses.replace would
+        # break frozen; build a new candidate directly.
+        from generate.math_problem_graph import InitialPossession, Quantity
+        ic2 = CandidateInitial(
+            initial=InitialPossession(
+                entity="John", quantity=Quantity(value=1200, unit="dollars"),
+            ),
+            source_span=ic.source_span,
+            matched_anchor=ic.matched_anchor,
+            matched_value_token=ic.matched_value_token,
+            matched_unit_token=ic.matched_unit_token,
+            matched_entity_token=ic.matched_entity_token,
+            composition_evidence=ev_partial,
+        )
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic2, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "composed_initial.evidence_complete"
+
+    def test_composed_initial_input_token_missing_eliminated(self) -> None:
+        ic = self._composed(input_tokens="999|400")  # 999 not in source
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "composed_initial.input_tokens_ground"
+
+    def test_composed_initial_currency_symbol_missing_eliminated(self) -> None:
+        # Build a candidate whose source span has no $ but evidence
+        # claims currency_symbol="$".
+        from generate.math_problem_graph import InitialPossession, Quantity
+        ic = CandidateInitial(
+            initial=InitialPossession(
+                entity="John", quantity=Quantity(value=1200, unit="dollars"),
+            ),
+            source_span="3 vet appointments at 400 each",  # no $
+            matched_anchor="has",
+            matched_value_token="1200",
+            matched_unit_token="dollars",
+            matched_entity_token="John",
+            composition_evidence={
+                "composition_shape": "shape",
+                "input_tokens": "3|400",
+                "entity_source": "prior_sentence",
+                "currency_symbol": "$",
+            },
+        )
+        result = check_constraints(hypothesis_from_initial(ic, 0))
+        assert result.admitted is False
+        first_fail = next(
+            (p for p, o in result.predicates_run if o == "fail"), None
+        )
+        assert first_fail == "composed_initial.currency_symbol_present"
+
+
 class TestCheckConstraintsResultShape:
     def test_predicates_run_only_uses_known_predicate_names(self) -> None:
         ic = _initial()
diff --git a/tests/test_adr_0174_phase3_lookback.py b/tests/test_adr_0174_phase3_lookback.py
index 8494d05a..108f1d9f 100644
--- a/tests/test_adr_0174_phase3_lookback.py
+++ b/tests/test_adr_0174_phase3_lookback.py
@@ -347,6 +347,74 @@ class TestPhase3WiringEndToEnd:
             for ev in lookback_events
         ), f"expected lookback admitted event; trace={lookback_events}"
 
+    def test_multi_actor_ambiguous_refuses_with_no_antecedent_ambiguous(self) -> None:
+        """ADR-0174 Phase 3a wrong=0 hazard defense — surfaced by
+        2026-05-28 lookback review.
+
+        When a problem has more than one distinct proper-noun subject
+        in prior context, the _discourse_prior_subjects lookup is
+        gender-blind and would silently pick the most-recent-prior as
+        the antecedent. In 'Alice has 5. Bob has 3. She buys 2.',
+        this would resolve 'She' to 'Bob' and attribute Alice's
+        purchase to Bob — wrong attribution with no downstream safety
+        net.
+
+        Defense: refuse with no_antecedent_ambiguous trace event when
+        multiple distinct proper-noun subjects appear in prior
+        context. Refusal-preferring discipline preserves wrong=0.
+        """
+        from generate.math_candidate_graph import parse_and_solve
+        text = (
+            "Alice has 5 Pokemon cards. "
+            "Bob has 3 Pokemon cards. "
+            "She collected 2 Pokemon cards. "
+            "How many Pokemon cards does Bob have?"
+        )
+        r = parse_and_solve(text)
+        # MUST refuse — wrong attribution is the hazard.
+        assert r.answer is None
+        lookback_events = [
+            json.loads(ev) for ev in r.reader_trace
+            if json.loads(ev).get("layer") == "lookback"
+        ]
+        ambig = [
+            ev for ev in lookback_events
+            if ev.get("outcome") == "no_antecedent_ambiguous"
+        ]
+        assert ambig, (
+            f"expected no_antecedent_ambiguous event; trace={lookback_events}"
+        )
+        ev = ambig[0]
+        assert "Alice" in ev["candidate_antecedents"]
+        assert "Bob" in ev["candidate_antecedents"]
+        assert ev["pronoun"] == "She"
+
+    def test_single_actor_pronoun_still_resolves(self) -> None:
+        """Counter-test: when there's only ONE distinct prior subject,
+        the defense MUST NOT fire — pronoun resolution proceeds."""
+        from generate.math_candidate_graph import parse_and_solve
+        text = (
+            "Bob has 10 Pokemon cards. "
+            "He collected 5 Pokemon cards. "
+            "How many Pokemon cards does Bob have?"
+        )
+        r = parse_and_solve(text)
+        lookback_events = [
+            json.loads(ev) for ev in r.reader_trace
+            if json.loads(ev).get("layer") == "lookback"
+        ]
+        assert not any(
+            ev.get("outcome") == "no_antecedent_ambiguous"
+            for ev in lookback_events
+        ), (
+            f"single-actor case must not trigger ambiguity defense; "
+            f"trace={lookback_events}"
+        )
+        assert any(
+            ev.get("outcome") == "admitted" and ev.get("resolved_to") == "Bob"
+            for ev in lookback_events
+        )
+
     def test_no_antecedent_emits_no_antecedent_trace_event(self) -> None:
         from generate.math_candidate_graph import parse_and_solve
         # No proper-noun antecedent before the held pronoun sentence.
@@ -359,20 +427,11 @@ class TestPhase3WiringEndToEnd:
             json.loads(ev) for ev in r.reader_trace
             if json.loads(ev).get("layer") == "lookback"
         ]
-        # Either we emitted a no_antecedent event, OR the sentence
-        # refused before reaching the lookback path. Both preserve
-        # wrong=0; the assertion captures the intent.
-        no_antecedent = any(
-            ev.get("outcome") == "no_antecedent"
-            for ev in lookback_events
-        )
-        # The problem should refuse cleanly regardless.
         assert r.refusal_reason is not None or r.answer is None
-        # If lookback fired at all, it must have been no_antecedent.
         for ev in lookback_events:
-            assert ev.get("outcome") in ("no_antecedent", "eliminated"), (
-                f"unexpected lookback outcome on no-antecedent input: {ev}"
-            )
+            assert ev.get("outcome") in (
+                "no_antecedent", "no_antecedent_ambiguous", "eliminated"
+            ), f"unexpected lookback outcome on no-antecedent input: {ev}"
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------