diff --git a/include/kpn/branch.hpp b/include/kpn/branch.hpp
index 676a1f8..81903ae 100644
--- a/include/kpn/branch.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/branch.hpp
@@ -52,16 +52,24 @@ bool deliver_one(Channel<T>* ch, T& val, const std::atomic<bool>& stop_flag,
     }
     const auto park_from = clock_t::now();
     for (;;) {
-        if (ch->try_push(val)) {
-            parked = duration_t(clock_t::now() - park_from);
-            return true;
+        switch (ch->try_push(val)) {
+            case Channel<T>::PushResult::Taken:
+                parked = duration_t(clock_t::now() - park_from);
+                return true;
+            case Channel<T>::PushResult::Closed:
+                // Nobody is listening any more; the channel has recorded the
+                // drop. Retrying would spin until teardown noticed.
+                parked = duration_t(clock_t::now() - park_from);
+                return false;
+            case Channel<T>::PushResult::Full:
+                break;                       // fall through to the retry logic
         }
         if (stop_flag.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {
-            // Teardown with work in hand. One last throwing push, purely so the
-            // channel's own stats record the loss (drop if it is disabled,
-            // overflow if it is merely full). The point of the lossless path is
-            // that a loss is never invisible, and a silent return here would
-            // reintroduce exactly the hole this function exists to close.
+            // Teardown with work in hand and the output still full. One last
+            // throwing push, purely so the channel's own stats record the
+            // overflow — the point of the lossless path is that a loss is never
+            // invisible, and a silent return here would reintroduce exactly the
+            // hole this function exists to close.
             try { ch->push(std::move(val)); }
             catch (const ChannelOverflowError&) {}
             parked = duration_t(clock_t::now() - park_from);
diff --git a/include/kpn/channel.hpp b/include/kpn/channel.hpp
index afaf9fe..e7420ff 100644
--- a/include/kpn/channel.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/channel.hpp
@@ -165,13 +165,26 @@ public:
                head_.load(std::memory_order_acquire) < capacity_;
     }
 
-    /// Non-blocking, lossless push. Returns false when the ring is full, having
+    /// Outcome of a non-blocking push.
+    ///
+    /// try_push used to return bool, and returned *true* for a closed channel —
+    /// so "delivered" and "discarded because nobody is listening" were the same
+    /// answer. Both mean "stop trying", which is why the callers were correct,
+    /// but neither they nor the producer's own accounting could tell a value
+    /// that arrived from one that was thrown away. Only the channel's drop
+    /// counter knew.
+    enum class PushResult { Taken, Full, Closed };
+
+    /// Non-blocking, lossless push. Returns Full when the ring is full, having
     /// changed nothing — the caller keeps the value and retries when woken.
-    bool try_push(T& value) {
-        if (!accepting_.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) { stats_.record_drop(); return true; }
+    PushResult try_push(T& value) {
+        if (!accepting_.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) {
+            stats_.record_drop();
+            return PushResult::Closed;
+        }
         const std::size_t t = tail_.load(std::memory_order_relaxed);
         const std::size_t h = head_.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
-        if (t - h >= capacity_) return false;
+        if (t - h >= capacity_) return PushResult::Full;
 
         const std::size_t data_bytes = ChannelDataSize<T>::bytes(value);
         const bool was_empty = (t == h);
@@ -181,7 +194,7 @@ public:
         wake_.fetch_add(1, std::memory_order_release);
         wake_.notify_one();
         if (was_empty && push_callback_) push_callback_();
-        return true;
+        return PushResult::Taken;
     }
 
     // Lossless push with BACKPRESSURE: if the ring is full, wait for the consumer to
diff --git a/include/kpn/fanout.hpp b/include/kpn/fanout.hpp
index 1d6bf9e..f9f2c46 100644
--- a/include/kpn/fanout.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/fanout.hpp
@@ -160,7 +160,10 @@ private:
         for (;;) {
             for (std::size_t i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
                 if (!pending[i]) continue;
-                if (out_channels_[i]->try_push(*pending[i])) {
+                // Taken or Closed both mean "stop trying" — delivered, or gone
+                // with the drop recorded. Only Full is worth another pass.
+                if (out_channels_[i]->try_push(*pending[i])
+                        != Channel<T>::PushResult::Full) {
                     pending[i].reset();
                     --outstanding;
                 }
diff --git a/include/kpn/pool_node.hpp b/include/kpn/pool_node.hpp
index c875b9b..e6113b5 100644
--- a/include/kpn/pool_node.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/pool_node.hpp
@@ -641,7 +641,10 @@ private:
         // to run the consumer that would drain the channel. That is the
         // hold-and-wait deadlock channel.hpp warns about for sentinels; it
         // applies to data pushes just as much.
-        return ch->try_push(val);
+        // Closed counts as "stop trying", not as delivered: the value is gone
+        // and the channel has recorded the drop. Only Full means park and retry.
+        return ch->try_push(val) != Channel<std::tuple_element_t<I, return_tuple>>
+                                        ::PushResult::Full;
     }
 
     template<std::size_t I>
@@ -1215,7 +1218,10 @@ private:
             return true;
         }
         // See the note on the typed overload above: park rather than block.
-        return ch->try_push(val);
+        // Closed counts as "stop trying", not as delivered: the value is gone
+        // and the channel has recorded the drop. Only Full means park and retry.
+        return ch->try_push(val) != Channel<std::tuple_element_t<I, return_tuple>>
+                                        ::PushResult::Full;
     }
 
     Obj&                                     obj_;
diff --git a/tests/test_channel.cpp b/tests/test_channel.cpp
index 8150b6d..7be801e 100644
--- a/tests/test_channel.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_channel.cpp
@@ -298,3 +298,28 @@ TEST_CASE("try_push_sentinel leaves a refused value untouched", "[channel][senti
     CHECK(ch.try_push_sentinel(third) == Channel<std::string>::SentinelResult::Closed);
     CHECK(third == "eof-3");
 }
+
+// Regression: try_push must distinguish delivered from discarded.
+//
+// It returned bool, and returned *true* for a closed channel — so "the value
+// arrived" and "the value was thrown away because nobody is listening" were the
+// same answer. Every caller was nonetheless correct, because both cases mean
+// "stop trying"; but nothing above the channel could tell the two apart, and a
+// producer counting successful pushes counted discards among them. Only the
+// channel's own drop counter knew, and only if someone read the diagnostics.
+TEST_CASE("try_push distinguishes taken, full and closed", "[channel]") {
+    Channel<int> ch(2);
+    int v = 1;
+
+    CHECK(ch.try_push(v) == Channel<int>::PushResult::Taken);
+    CHECK(ch.try_push(v) == Channel<int>::PushResult::Taken);
+    // Ring is full: the value is untouched and the caller keeps it.
+    CHECK(ch.try_push(v) == Channel<int>::PushResult::Full);
+    CHECK(v == 1);
+
+    ch.disable();
+    const auto drops_before = ch.stats().drops.load();
+    CHECK(ch.try_push(v) == Channel<int>::PushResult::Closed);
+    // Discarded, and recorded as such rather than reported as a delivery.
+    CHECK(ch.stats().drops.load() == drops_before + 1);
+}