diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/GanjoorApp.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/GanjoorApp.kt
index 786ded0..ab2fc3f 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/GanjoorApp.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/GanjoorApp.kt
@@ -110,7 +110,11 @@ fun GanjoorApp() {
         // Up to three list columns beside the poets; below this, only the newest one.
         val expanded by rememberUpdatedState(maxWidth >= 840.dp)
         // On a large screen reading settings open in a panel on the left, where the dictionary
-        // opens, so the page stays in view and shows each change as it is made.
+        // opens, so the page stays in view and shows each change as it is made — but only where
+        // the browser still has its own room beside the panel. Below that the panel would squeeze
+        // the columns and the poem into less than the layout is built for, so the sheet is used
+        // instead, exactly as on a phone.
+        val settingsPanel by rememberUpdatedState(maxWidth - SidePanelWidth >= 600.dp)
         Row(Modifier.fillMaxSize()) {
         Box(Modifier.weight(1f)) {
         NavHost(
@@ -237,7 +241,7 @@ fun GanjoorApp() {
             }
         }
         }
-        if (wide) {
+        if (settingsPanel) {
             AnimatedVisibility(
                 visible = settingsOpen,
                 enter = expandHorizontally() + fadeIn(),
@@ -249,7 +253,7 @@ fun GanjoorApp() {
         }
 
         // Inside the provider: the sheet reads LocalOpenAbout, so it has to be in scope.
-        if (settingsOpen && !wide) ReadingSettingsSheet(onDismiss = { settingsOpen = false })
+        if (settingsOpen && !settingsPanel) ReadingSettingsSheet(onDismiss = { settingsOpen = false })
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/PoemScreen.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/PoemScreen.kt
index 11a3d47..32b1725 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/PoemScreen.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/PoemScreen.kt
@@ -93,6 +93,14 @@ fun PoemScreen(
     // finds, so the couplet's own actions live at its foot rather than behind a tap between words.
     var tapped by remember { mutableStateOf<WordTap?>(null) }
 
+    BoxWithConstraints(Modifier.fillMaxSize()) {
+    // Whether the dictionary gets a column of its own is not a question about the window but
+    // about what is left of this page once the columns have taken theirs. On a book-style
+    // foldable held open in portrait the page is already down to ~450dp, and a panel beside it
+    // left the verse about 75dp wide — one or two characters a line. Where it does not fit, the
+    // sheet is the better answer: it covers the foot of the poem but leaves the lines whole.
+    val roomForPanel = wide && maxWidth - SidePanelWidth >= MinPageMeasure
+
     Load(
         key = fullUrl,
         block = { Ganjoor.poem(fullUrl) },
@@ -222,7 +230,7 @@ fun PoemScreen(
             }
         }
         }
-        if (wide) {
+        if (roomForPanel) {
             AnimatedVisibility(
                 visible = tapped != null,
                 enter = expandHorizontally() + fadeIn(),
@@ -240,7 +248,7 @@ fun PoemScreen(
         }
     }
 
-    if (!wide) {
+    if (!roomForPanel) {
         tapped?.let { tap ->
             WordSheet(
                 word = tap.word,
@@ -249,6 +257,7 @@ fun PoemScreen(
             )
         }
     }
+    }
 }
 
 /** A word someone tapped: what to look up, the couplet it came from, and where it sits in its verse. */
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/ReadingSettings.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/ReadingSettings.kt
index 23bc60d..379c22d 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/ReadingSettings.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/ReadingSettings.kt
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ fun ReadingSettingsPanel(onDismiss: () -> Unit) {
     BackHandler(onBack = onDismiss)
     Surface(
         color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.surfaceContainerLow,
-        modifier = Modifier.width(360.dp).fillMaxHeight(),
+        modifier = Modifier.width(SidePanelWidth).fillMaxHeight(),
     ) {
         Column(Modifier.statusBarsPadding()) {
             Row(
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/WordSheet.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/WordSheet.kt
index db88f04..2a86d80 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/WordSheet.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/ganjoor/android/ui/WordSheet.kt
@@ -48,6 +48,16 @@ import com.ganjoor.android.data.LocalAssistant
 import com.ganjoor.android.data.Pronunciation
 import com.ganjoor.android.ui.theme.readingStyle
 
+/** The width of a side panel — the dictionary and the reading settings share it. */
+val SidePanelWidth = 360.dp
+
+/**
+ * The narrowest the page may be left once a side panel opens beside it. Below this the panel is
+ * not worth its room: on a book-style foldable the columns had already taken theirs, and a 360dp
+ * panel left the verse about 75dp wide, breaking it to one or two characters a line.
+ */
+val MinPageMeasure = 400.dp
+
 /** English prose inside an otherwise right-to-left sheet. */
 @Composable
 private fun LeftToRight(content: @Composable () -> Unit) {
@@ -102,7 +112,7 @@ fun WordPanel(word: String, onDismiss: () -> Unit, passage: Bookmark? = null) {
     BackHandler(onBack = onDismiss)
     Surface(
         color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.surfaceContainerLow,
-        modifier = Modifier.width(360.dp).fillMaxHeight(),
+        modifier = Modifier.width(SidePanelWidth).fillMaxHeight(),
     ) {
         Column(Modifier.statusBarsPadding()) {
             Row(
diff --git a/design/components/ColumnBrowser/README.md b/design/components/ColumnBrowser/README.md
index b249451..cca9b1e 100644
--- a/design/components/ColumnBrowser/README.md
+++ b/design/components/ColumnBrowser/README.md
@@ -45,13 +45,18 @@ On large screens, tapping a word opens **WordPanel** on the left instead of the
 - The poem moves over to make room, so nothing being read is covered.
 - The tapped word stays highlighted in the verse (`secondary-container` / `on-secondary-container`), on phones too.
 - ✕ or Back closes the panel.
+- A panel is only opened where the page keeps at least **400dp** beside it. On a book-style
+  foldable held open in portrait the columns have already taken their room, and a panel
+  there left the verse about 75dp wide — one or two characters a line. Below that the sheet
+  is used instead: it covers the foot of the poem but leaves the lines whole.
 
 ## Reading settings
 
 On large screens the gear opens **ReadingSettingsPanel** on the left, where the dictionary opens, instead of the bottom sheet:
 - It has the same width and surface as the dictionary panel, with a "Reading settings" header and a ✕ button. The settings and their order are the same as in the sheet.
 - The page stays in view beside the panel, so a change of theme, font, weight or size shows on the poem as it's made.
-- ✕ or Back closes it. Phones keep the bottom sheet.
+- ✕ or Back closes it. Phones keep the bottom sheet, and so does any window too narrow to
+  leave the browser its own 600dp beside the panel.
 
 ## Loading