diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index f355bcf..4ba96ca 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ parameter interpolation.
   form accepts at run time, change `check.go` to match (`builtinSigs` for
   builtins), and add the case to `TestCheckMatchesRun`, which runs every
   rejected expression to confirm `Run` fails too.
+  The one intended exception: Check rejects a registered function used as a
+  value (`[upper, 1]`), which `Run` still evaluates.
 - When changing language behavior, update `docs/reference/spec.md` in the same change; if the
   change affects how expressions *look*, update `docs/guides/examples.md` and `llms.txt` too.
 - Guide pages under `docs/guides/` have runnable companions under `examples/` and
diff --git a/check.go b/check.go
index 7226b1e..d3002cf 100644
--- a/check.go
+++ b/check.go
@@ -264,6 +264,10 @@ func (c *checker) ident(n *ast.Ident, sc *scope) *Type {
 		return orAny(t)
 	}
 	if _, ok := c.p.funcs[name]; ok {
+		// Run returns the function itself, which fails on a field read
+		// and when a host stores the result. Run accepts it in a
+		// condition or a list literal; Check rejects it there too.
+		c.report(n, "%q is a function, not a value; call it", name)
 		return Any
 	}
 	names := make([]string, 0, len(c.env))
diff --git a/check_test.go b/check_test.go
index 6f554b9..ef2b140 100644
--- a/check_test.go
+++ b/check_test.go
@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ func TestCheckRejects(t *testing.T) {
 		`map(findings.items, it.titel)`: `no field "titel"`,
 		`findings.items["x"]`:           "list index must be a number",
 		`classify?.missing`:             `no field "missing"`,
+		`first.id`:                      `"first" is a function, not a value; call it`,
+		`[upper, 1]`:                    `"upper" is a function, not a value; call it`,
 	} {
 		_, err := checkSrc(t, src)
 		require.Error(t, err, src)
diff --git a/docs/reference/spec.md b/docs/reference/spec.md
index ae8b886..fb90555 100644
--- a/docs/reference/spec.md
+++ b/docs/reference/spec.md
@@ -761,6 +761,13 @@ Check reports, as a `*TypeError` wrapping `ErrType`, every:
 - `==`/`!=` that can never be true: different kinds, or a literal outside
   the other side's enum (`kind == "bugfix"` when kind is
   `"bug_fix" | "feature"`).
+- registered function name used as a value instead of called (`first.id`,
+  `[upper, 1]`). An env entry or bound name with the same name wins.
+
+Check otherwise agrees with Run: what it reports, Run rejects too. A
+function used as a value is the one intended exception. Run returns the
+function itself, which fails on a field read or when a host stores the
+result, but Run accepts it in a condition or a list literal.
 
 `&&` and `||` return one of their operands (see Logical), so they type
 as the join of their operand types: `bool` only when both sides are. Joining
diff --git a/llms.txt b/llms.txt
index cab241b..d4c7706 100644
--- a/llms.txt
+++ b/llms.txt
@@ -473,10 +473,11 @@ t, err := p.Check(env, expr.WithFuncType("concat", concatType))
 
 Types: `expr.Any`, `Null()`, `Bool()`, `Number()`, `String()`, `EnumOf(...)`,
 `ListOf(t)`, `ObjectOf(fields)` (closed), `OpenObject(fields)`, `t.OrNil()`,
-`t.NonNil()`, `Join(a, b)`. Check catches unknown names and fields,
-reads of maybe-nil values without `?.`/`try`, wrong-kind operations,
-builtin calls with the wrong arguments, and comparisons that are never
-true (including against an enum). A nil `*Type` means `Any`.
+`t.NonNil()`, `Join(a, b)`. Check catches unknown names and fields, a
+registered function used as a value instead of called, reads of
+maybe-nil values without `?.`/`try`, wrong-kind operations, builtin
+calls with the wrong arguments, and comparisons that are never true
+(including against an enum). A nil `*Type` means `Any`.
 
 `Template.Check(env)` checks every `${...}`. `WithFuncType(name, fn)` types
 a registered function: `fn(args []*expr.Type) (*expr.Type, error)` returns