diff --git a/src/lib/daily/__tests__/today-overview.test.ts b/src/lib/daily/__tests__/today-overview.test.ts
index 4646f9813..6e25dcc1a 100644
--- a/src/lib/daily/__tests__/today-overview.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/daily/__tests__/today-overview.test.ts
@@ -864,3 +864,21 @@ describe("signal line — a metric is named by whole words, not by fragments", (
     expect(lineFor(lead, metric)).toEqual({ headline: null, delta: DELTA });
   });
 });
+
+describe("lead length — the ellipsis counts toward the budget", () => {
+  it("stays within 160 characters for text without a single space", () => {
+    // A digit keeps it from reading as a greeting (too few words).
+    const unbroken = `${"a".repeat(400)}1.`;
+    const lead = firstSubstantiveSentence(unbroken, null) ?? "";
+    expect(lead.endsWith("…")).toBe(true);
+    expect(lead.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(160);
+  });
+
+  it("stays within 160 characters when the last space sits at the budget", () => {
+    const text = `${"b".repeat(159)} ${"c".repeat(39)}1.`;
+    const lead = firstSubstantiveSentence(text, null) ?? "";
+    expect(lead.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(160);
+    // The space at the edge still ends a whole word.
+    expect(lead).toBe(`${"b".repeat(159)}…`);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/daily/today-overview.ts b/src/lib/daily/today-overview.ts
index bb22c469f..726b14983 100644
--- a/src/lib/daily/today-overview.ts
+++ b/src/lib/daily/today-overview.ts
@@ -275,9 +275,13 @@ function fitsLead(text: string): boolean {
  */
 function shortenAtWord(text: string): string {
   if (fitsLead(text)) return text;
-  const room = text.slice(0, MAX_LEAD_LENGTH);
-  const space = room.lastIndexOf(" ");
-  const head = (space > 0 ? room.slice(0, space) : room)
+  // One character of the budget goes to the ellipsis itself, so the kept
+  // head is at most MAX - 1 long: a space at that index still ends a whole
+  // word, and text with no space at all is cut hard one short of the budget.
+  const space = text.slice(0, MAX_LEAD_LENGTH).lastIndexOf(" ");
+  const head = (
+    space > 0 ? text.slice(0, space) : text.slice(0, MAX_LEAD_LENGTH - 1)
+  )
     .trimEnd()
     .replace(/[\s,;:–—-]+$/u, "");
   return `${head}…`;