Audit every shortcut after adding a non-authoritative hint

A language hint introduced only to decide whether deeper routing is worthwhile must never become authority through another branch. Single-candidate shortcuts, conversation fallback, and early returns can silently promote an incidental noun into a deterministic match. Require affirmative support phrasing for loose step hints, recognize negated forms before the hint, and test the same text with one and several eligible candidates. Keep bare mentions and disclaimers fail closed.

Applies when: deterministic hints gate an LLM fallback or coexist with fast-path routing. Keywords: routing hint shortcut incidental mention negation single candidate LLM fallback safety