diff --git a/lib/datalog/db.sx b/lib/datalog/db.sx
index d8e3be56..230d1c1c 100644
--- a/lib/datalog/db.sx
+++ b/lib/datalog/db.sx
@@ -251,6 +251,24 @@
               (dl-index-add! db rel-key lit)
               true)))))))
 
+;; A simple term — number, string, or symbol — i.e. anything legal
+;; as an EDB fact arg. Compound (list) args belong only in body
+;; literals where they encode arithmetic / aggregate sub-goals.
+(define
+  dl-simple-term?
+  (fn
+    (term)
+    (or (number? term) (string? term) (symbol? term))))
+
+(define
+  dl-args-simple?
+  (fn
+    (lit i n)
+    (cond
+      ((>= i n) true)
+      ((not (dl-simple-term? (nth lit i))) false)
+      (else (dl-args-simple? lit (+ i 1) n)))))
+
 (define
   dl-add-fact!
   (fn
@@ -261,6 +279,11 @@
       ((dl-reserved-rel? (dl-rel-name lit))
         (error (str "dl-add-fact!: '" (dl-rel-name lit)
                     "' is a reserved name (built-in / aggregate / negation)")))
+      ((not (dl-args-simple? lit 1 (len lit)))
+        (error (str "dl-add-fact!: fact args must be numbers, strings, "
+                    "or symbols — compound args (e.g. arithmetic "
+                    "expressions) are body-only and aren't evaluated "
+                    "in fact position. got " lit)))
       ((not (dl-ground? lit (dl-empty-subst)))
         (error (str "dl-add-fact!: expected ground literal, got " lit)))
       (else
@@ -373,6 +396,11 @@
         (error (str "dl-add-rule!: head must be a non-empty list "
                     "starting with a relation-name symbol, got "
                     (get rule :head))))
+      ((not (dl-args-simple? (get rule :head) 1 (len (get rule :head))))
+        (error (str "dl-add-rule!: rule head args must be variables or "
+                    "constants — compound terms (e.g. `(*(X, 2))`) are "
+                    "not legal in head position; introduce an `is`-bound "
+                    "intermediate in the body. got " (get rule :head))))
       ((not (list? (if (has-key? rule :body) (get rule :body) (list))))
         (error (str "dl-add-rule!: body must be a list of literals, got "
                     (get rule :body))))
diff --git a/lib/datalog/scoreboard.json b/lib/datalog/scoreboard.json
index 40f37987..b30f55a4 100644
--- a/lib/datalog/scoreboard.json
+++ b/lib/datalog/scoreboard.json
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 {
   "lang": "datalog",
-  "total_passed": 269,
+  "total_passed": 271,
   "total_failed": 0,
-  "total": 269,
+  "total": 271,
   "suites": [
     {"name":"tokenize","passed":31,"failed":0,"total":31},
     {"name":"parse","passed":23,"failed":0,"total":23},
     {"name":"unify","passed":29,"failed":0,"total":29},
-    {"name":"eval","passed":40,"failed":0,"total":40},
+    {"name":"eval","passed":42,"failed":0,"total":42},
     {"name":"builtins","passed":26,"failed":0,"total":26},
     {"name":"semi_naive","passed":8,"failed":0,"total":8},
     {"name":"negation","passed":10,"failed":0,"total":10},
@@ -16,5 +16,5 @@
     {"name":"magic","passed":36,"failed":0,"total":36},
     {"name":"demo","passed":21,"failed":0,"total":21}
   ],
-  "generated": "2026-05-11T08:39:03+00:00"
+  "generated": "2026-05-11T08:44:12+00:00"
 }
diff --git a/lib/datalog/scoreboard.md b/lib/datalog/scoreboard.md
index 174fc06d..3ea409b0 100644
--- a/lib/datalog/scoreboard.md
+++ b/lib/datalog/scoreboard.md
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 # datalog scoreboard
 
-**269 / 269 passing** (0 failure(s)).
+**271 / 271 passing** (0 failure(s)).
 
 | Suite | Passed | Total | Status |
 |-------|--------|-------|--------|
 | tokenize | 31 | 31 | ok |
 | parse | 23 | 23 | ok |
 | unify | 29 | 29 | ok |
-| eval | 40 | 40 | ok |
+| eval | 42 | 42 | ok |
 | builtins | 26 | 26 | ok |
 | semi_naive | 8 | 8 | ok |
 | negation | 10 | 10 | ok |
diff --git a/lib/datalog/tests/eval.sx b/lib/datalog/tests/eval.sx
index f859c2b2..1dd432de 100644
--- a/lib/datalog/tests/eval.sx
+++ b/lib/datalog/tests/eval.sx
@@ -234,6 +234,24 @@
                  :body (list {:weird "stuff"})}))))
         true)
 
+      ;; Facts may only have simple-term args (number / string / symbol).
+      ;; A compound arg like `+(1, 2)` would otherwise be silently
+      ;; stored as the unreduced expression `(+ 1 2)` because dl-ground?
+      ;; sees no free variables.
+      (dl-et-test!
+        "compound arg in fact rejected"
+        (dl-et-throws? (fn () (dl-program "p(+(1, 2)).")))
+        true)
+
+      ;; Rule heads may only have variable or constant args — no
+      ;; compounds. Compound heads would be saturated as unreduced
+      ;; tuples rather than the arithmetic result the user expected.
+      (dl-et-test!
+        "compound arg in rule head rejected"
+        (dl-et-throws?
+          (fn () (dl-program "n(3). double(*(X, 2)) :- n(X).")))
+        true)
+
       (dl-et-test!
         "unsafe head var"
         (dl-et-throws? (fn () (dl-program "p(X, Y) :- q(X).")))
diff --git a/plans/datalog-on-sx.md b/plans/datalog-on-sx.md
index 29572e5c..2c65125c 100644
--- a/plans/datalog-on-sx.md
+++ b/plans/datalog-on-sx.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ for rose-ash data (e.g. federation graph, content relationships).
 
 ## Status (rolling)
 
-`bash lib/datalog/conformance.sh` → **269/269 across 11 suites**
+`bash lib/datalog/conformance.sh` → **271/271 across 11 suites**
 (tokenize, parse, unify, eval, builtins, semi_naive, negation, aggregates,
 api, magic, demo). Source is ~3100 LOC, tests ~2900 LOC, public API
 documented in `lib/datalog/datalog.sx`.
@@ -320,6 +320,16 @@ large graphs.
 
 _Newest first._
 
+- 2026-05-11 — Compound terms in fact-arg / rule-head positions were
+  silently stored as unreduced expressions. `p(+(1, 2)).` resulted
+  in a tuple `(p (+ 1 2))` (dl-ground? sees no free variables, so it
+  passed). `double(*(X, 2)) :- n(X).` saturated to `double((* 3 2))`
+  rather than `double(6)`. Datalog has no function symbols in arg
+  positions — `dl-add-fact!` and `dl-add-rule!` now reject compound
+  args via a new `dl-simple-term?` (number / string / symbol).
+  Compounds remain legal in body literals where they encode `is` /
+  arithmetic / aggregate sub-goals. 2 new regression tests; 271/271.
+
 - 2026-05-11 — Quoted atoms with uppercase-or-underscore-leading
   names were misclassified as variables. `p('Hello World').` ran
   through the tokenizer's `"atom"` branch and through the parser's