diff --git a/src/uix/eidos/components/tooltip/tooltip.css b/src/uix/eidos/components/tooltip/tooltip.css
index 40b3ae9d5..34004cb0d 100644
--- a/src/uix/eidos/components/tooltip/tooltip.css
+++ b/src/uix/eidos/components/tooltip/tooltip.css
@@ -75,40 +75,22 @@
 
 /* ── Arrow ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
-/* Colour the SVG shapes directly. The polygon/path carry `fill="currentColor"` /
- * `stroke="currentColor"` presentation attributes, which a `fill`/`stroke` set on
- * the wrapping <span> does NOT override — an element's own presentation attribute
- * beats an inherited value, so the caret rendered with `color` (dark text) instead
- * of the panel bg. Target the polygon (body) + path (the two exposed edges) like
- * the popover recipe. `display: block` keeps the SVG off the text baseline (which
- * added phantom height + misaligned the caret). */
+/* `display: block` keeps the SVG off the text baseline. Inline added ~21px of
+ * phantom height, which both misaligned the caret AND — since the positioner adds
+ * the measured arrow height to the gap (`offset = sideOffset + arrowHeight`) —
+ * pushed the panel too far from the trigger. This is the fix that mattered.
+ *
+ * The caret colour is left as `currentColor` (the panel's dark text colour), the
+ * long-standing behaviour: it reads against the page. Matching the caret to the
+ * panel bg is technically "correct" (a seamless extension) but makes it INVISIBLE
+ * on a light-on-light tooltip — the panel is defined by its box-shadow, which the
+ * separate caret element doesn't share. A properly matched-and-visible caret needs
+ * its own drop-shadow; deferred until that can be verified. */
 [data-tooltip-arrow] svg {
 	display: block;
 	overflow: visible;
 }
 
-[data-tooltip-arrow] polygon {
-	fill: var(--_tooltip-bg, var(--tooltip-bg));
-	stroke: none;
-}
-
-[data-tooltip-arrow] path {
-	stroke: var(--_tooltip-border, var(--tooltip-border));
-	stroke-width: var(--tooltip-border-width);
-	vector-effect: non-scaling-stroke;
-}
-
-/* Outline variant: transparent bg → fill the arrow with the surface (masks the
- * panel-border seam) and stroke the two exposed edges. */
-[data-tooltip-content][data-variant='outline'] ~ [data-tooltip-arrow] polygon,
-[data-tooltip-content][data-variant='outline'] [data-tooltip-arrow] polygon {
-	fill: var(--color-surface-default);
-}
-[data-tooltip-content][data-variant='outline'] ~ [data-tooltip-arrow] path,
-[data-tooltip-content][data-variant='outline'] [data-tooltip-arrow] path {
-	stroke: var(--color-border-strong);
-}
-
 /* ── Entrance / exit ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  * Tooltip morfo's data-state values: 'closed' | 'delayed-open' | 'instant-open'.
  * 'delayed-open' (hover) scales in subtly; 'instant-open' (keyboard focus)