diff --git a/.github/scripts/require-floor-run.sh b/.github/scripts/require-floor-run.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5f8b06a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/require-floor-run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+WORKFLOW="scheduled.yml"
+CANDIDATE_LIMIT=30
+
+tag_sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+tag_name=${GITHUB_REF_NAME:-$tag_sha}
+
+# "The most recent run is green" would not have held 1.8.0 back: the newest floors run at that
+# moment WAS green, because it predated the commit that broke the floor. So the run has to have
+# tested code that already contains this tag, i.e. the tagged commit is an ancestor of (or equal
+# to) the commit the floors ran on.
+candidate_shas=$(
+  gh run list --workflow "$WORKFLOW" --status success --limit "$CANDIDATE_LIMIT" --json headSha --jq '.[].headSha'
+)
+
+while read -r candidate_sha; do
+  [ -n "$candidate_sha" ] || continue
+  # A run dispatched by hand counts as much as a scheduled one; it verifies the same thing. Its
+  # commit may not be here yet, and may not be fetchable at all if its branch is gone.
+  git cat-file -e "${candidate_sha}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null \
+    || git fetch --quiet --no-tags origin "$candidate_sha" 2>/dev/null \
+    || continue
+  if git merge-base --is-ancestor "$tag_sha" "$candidate_sha"; then
+    echo "Dependency floors verified by $WORKFLOW at $candidate_sha, which contains $tag_sha."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done <<< "$candidate_shas"
+
+cat >&2 <<MSG
+::error::No successful $WORKFLOW run has tested the code in $tag_name, so the declared dependency
+floors are unverified. Checked the last $CANDIDATE_LIMIT successful runs. Nothing was published.
+
+Run the floors against this commit, then re-push the tag once they are green:
+
+  gh workflow run $WORKFLOW --ref $tag_sha
+  gh run watch "\$(gh run list --workflow $WORKFLOW --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId')" --exit-status
+  git push --delete origin $tag_name && git push origin $tag_name
+MSG
+exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index ff28385..3fdb894 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -4,22 +4,42 @@ name: Release
 # GitHub Release. Replaces the old `on: release: published` publish.yml — that
 # trigger is removed so the published Release this workflow creates can't re-fire
 # it (double-publish). The tag is the sole entry point; by convention a tag is
-# only cut off a green main, so there is no in-workflow CI gate.
+# only cut off a green main, so the sole in-workflow gate is floors-gate below,
+# covering the one check that never runs on pull requests.
 on:
   push:
     tags:
       - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'               # stable:      2.7.2
       - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+[a-z]+[0-9]+'   # pre-release: 2.0.0rc1, 4.0.0a2
 
-# contents: write -> create the GitHub Release; id-token: write -> OIDC for PyPI Trusted Publishing.
-permissions:
-  contents: write
-  id-token: write
+permissions: {}
 
 jobs:
+  # Gates the tag on the dependency floors, which _checks.yml runs only for scheduled.yml, never
+  # for pull requests. A floor break can therefore merge with every check green, which is how the
+  # crash in 1.8.0 reached PyPI (#245). Placed before release so a failure costs nothing.
+  floors-gate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # contents: read -> the history the ancestor check walks; actions: read -> list workflow runs.
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      actions: read
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0  # the ancestor check needs history, not just the tagged commit
+      - run: .github/scripts/require-floor-run.sh
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+
   release:
+    needs: floors-gate
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment: pypi  # scopes the PyPI Trusted Publisher; hook for approval rules
+    # contents: write -> create the GitHub Release; id-token: write -> OIDC for PyPI Trusted Publishing.
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      id-token: write
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: extractions/setup-just@v4