diff --git a/apps/web/src/config.ts b/apps/web/src/config.ts
index d9a2d8ae..b22dafba 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/config.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/config.ts
@@ -510,6 +510,21 @@ export const wording = {
       review_artifact: (document?: string) =>
         document ? `Asked for a review · ${document}` : "Asked for a review",
     } as Record<string, (subject?: string) => string>,
+    /** A hand-off the hub refused, by tool name: who it did not start. */
+    handoffRefused: {
+      deploy_writer: (document?: string) =>
+        document
+          ? `Could not start the writer · ${document}`
+          : "Could not start the writer",
+      design_app: () => "Could not start the designer",
+      deploy_coder: () => "Could not start the app builder",
+      deploy_presenter: () => "Could not start the presenter",
+      instruct_coder: () => "Could not send the app builder a change",
+      review_artifact: (document?: string) =>
+        document
+          ? `Could not ask for a review · ${document}`
+          : "Could not ask for a review",
+    } as Record<string, (subject?: string) => string>,
     /** What a tool call is doing, by tool name, given its one identifying argument. */
     tool: {
       read_file: (subject?: string) =>
@@ -708,6 +723,8 @@ export const wording = {
       timeout: "Not started — the go-ahead ran out of time",
       expired: "Not started — the go-ahead expired",
     },
+    /** The hub refused the hand-off, so nothing started. */
+    refused: "Not started",
     starting: "Starting…",
     /** At work before its run reports a step of its own. */
     working: (subject: string) => `Working on ${subject}`,
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit-view.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit-view.tsx
index 19e92a16..c3b6a746 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit-view.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit-view.tsx
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ function WorkLine({
       return text.steps(text.done[dispatch.role](subject), steps);
     case "finished":
     case "failed":
+      if (dispatch.refused !== undefined) return text.refused;
       return text.steps(text.ended(subject), steps);
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit.ts b/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit.ts
index d82195ea..e131973b 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/workspace/work-unit.ts
@@ -200,7 +200,11 @@ export function workUnitMessage(
     !dispatch.pending &&
     status.state !== "waiting" &&
     status.state !== "declined";
-  const handoff = wording.activity.handoff[dispatch.tool];
+  const handoff = (
+    dispatch.refused === undefined
+      ? wording.activity.handoff
+      : wording.activity.handoffRefused
+  )[dispatch.tool];
   const parts: ConversationPart[] = [
     {
       kind: "tool-trace",