diff --git a/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse.rs b/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse.rs
index 5214a2d6..54615ee0 100644
--- a/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse.rs
+++ b/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse.rs
@@ -459,16 +459,19 @@ impl Parser<'_> {
                 if self.at_keyword("mode") && self.next_after(4) == Some('(') {
                     return self.mode_of();
                 }
-                if let Some((id, n)) = self.variable_here() {
-                    self.i += n;
-                    return self.in_mode(id);
-                }
+                let var = self.variable_here();
+                // A bare `true`/`false` is the literal, also when a variable has that name (it reads
+                // as `{true}`); longer names that start with it ("true value") stay variables.
                 for (word, v) in [("true", true), ("false", false)] {
-                    if self.at_keyword(word) {
+                    if self.at_keyword(word) && var.as_ref().is_none_or(|(_, n)| *n <= word.len()) {
                         self.i += word.len();
                         return Ok(Expr::Value(VariableValue::Boolean(v)));
                     }
                 }
+                if let Some((id, n)) = var {
+                    self.i += n;
+                    return self.in_mode(id);
+                }
                 let word: String = self.s.iter().skip(self.i).take_while(|c| ident(**c)).collect();
                 if word.is_empty() { Err(self.err(format!("Unexpected {c}"))) } else { Err(self.err(format!("No variable `{word}`"))) }
             }
diff --git a/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse_tests.rs b/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse_tests.rs
index e2d4592a..1cac9f53 100644
--- a/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/doc/src/proto_expr_parse_tests.rs
@@ -219,3 +219,25 @@ fn not_of_a_variable_reads_back_when_a_name_starts_with_not() {
     }
     assert_eq!(Expr::op(Not, vec![Expr::var("b")]).display(&vars()), "not b-name", "plain names stay bare");
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn literal_true_false_survive_variables_named_true_false() {
+    use ExprOp::*;
+    let lit = |x: bool| Expr::Value(VariableValue::Boolean(x));
+    for name in ["true", "false", "TRUE"] {
+        let mut v = vars();
+        if let Some(var) = v.variables.iter_mut().find(|x| x.id == "b") {
+            var.name = name.into();
+        }
+        for e in [
+            Expr::op(Equals, vec![Expr::var("b"), lit(true)]),
+            Expr::op(Equals, vec![Expr::var("b"), lit(false)]),
+            Expr::op(Not, vec![lit(false)]),
+            Expr::var("b"),
+        ] {
+            let shown = e.display(&v);
+            assert_eq!(Expr::parse(&shown, &v), Ok(e.clone()), "{name:?} shown as {shown:?}");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(Expr::parse(&format!("{{{name}}}"), &v), Ok(Expr::var("b")));
+    }
+}