diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/prompt.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/prompt.py
index 3bce656..389819f 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/tui/prompt.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/prompt.py
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ class CountdownDialog(_KeylessDialog):
             cell_len(self._reason),
             len("  Cancel  "),
         )
-        return inner + 8
+        return inner + 12  # panel padding + border, plus breathing room (see ButtonDialog)
 
     @staticmethod
     def _clock_text(remaining: float) -> str:
@@ -671,18 +671,20 @@ class CountdownDialog(_KeylessDialog):
         return f"Ready in {seconds}s"
 
     def render_body(self, width: int) -> list[str]:
-        """Draw the clock, its reason, and the Cancel chip."""
-        lines: list[Text] = [Text(self._clock_text(self._remaining), style="warn")]
+        """Draw the clock and its reason centered above a centered Cancel chip.
+
+        Centered line by line, the way :class:`ButtonDialog` and :class:`ProgressDialog`
+        draw theirs: a chip is a chip wherever it appears, and one shoved against the left
+        border read as an afterthought beside its siblings' centered rows.
+        """
+        parts: list[Text] = [
+            _center(Text(self._clock_text(self._remaining), style="warn"), width)
+        ]
         if self._reason:
-            lines.append(Text(self._reason, style="muted"))
-        lines.append(Text(""))
-        lines.append(Text("  Cancel  ", style="selected"))
-        rendered: list[str] = []
-        for line in lines:
-            # An empty Text renders to no lines at all on its own, so the spacer above the
-            # chip has to be asked for explicitly or the chip rides up against the reason.
-            rendered.extend(render_lines(line, width) or [""])
-        return rendered
+            parts.append(_center(Text(self._reason, style="muted"), width))
+        parts.append(Text(""))
+        parts.append(_center(Text("  Cancel  ", style="selected"), width))
+        return render_lines(Group(*parts), width)
 
     def handle(self, action: str, data: str = "") -> None:
         """Enter and Esc both abandon: the only chip on the dialog is Cancel."""
diff --git a/tests/test_cooldown.py b/tests/test_cooldown.py
index 5402743..867dc45 100644
--- a/tests/test_cooldown.py
+++ b/tests/test_cooldown.py
@@ -110,6 +110,18 @@ def test_the_countdown_shows_the_clock_its_reason_and_the_way_out() -> None:
     assert dialog.footer_hint == "Enter/Esc cancel"
 
 
+def test_the_clock_its_reason_and_the_chip_are_all_centered() -> None:
+    """Centered like every other dialog's body — a chip against the left border read as odd."""
+    dialog = CountdownDialog("Flood advert", 47.0, reason="reaches the whole mesh")
+    width = dialog.dialog_width - 8
+    for line in _lines(dialog):
+        if not line.strip():
+            continue
+        left = len(line) - len(line.lstrip(" "))
+        right = width - len(line.rstrip(" "))
+        assert abs(left - right) <= 1, line
+
+
 def test_a_part_second_still_reads_as_a_second() -> None:
     """The clock counts the way a person would say it: 0.2s left is still "1s"."""
     assert "Ready in 1s" in _lines(CountdownDialog("Advert", 0.2))[0]