diff --git a/include/iris/x4/operator/difference.hpp b/include/iris/x4/operator/difference.hpp
index b81144b12..899b0df4e 100644
--- a/include/iris/x4/operator/difference.hpp
+++ b/include/iris/x4/operator/difference.hpp
@@ -33,27 +33,28 @@ struct difference : binary_parser<Left, Right, difference<Left, Right>>
     [[nodiscard]] constexpr bool
     parse(It& first, Se const& last, Context const& ctx, Attr& attr) const
     {
-        // Try Right first
-        It start = first;
+        // Try `Right`
+        It const orig_first = first;
         if (this->right.parse(first, last, ctx, unused)) {
-            // Right succeeds, we fail.
-            first = start;
+            // `Right` succeeds, we fail.
+            first = orig_first;
             return false;
         }
-
         if constexpr (has_context_v<Context, contexts::expectation_failure>) {
             // In case of `Left - expect[r]`,
             // if Right yielded expectation error,
             // the whole difference expression (*this) should also yield error.
-            // In other words, when the THROW macro was 1 (i.e. traditional behavior),
-            // Right should already have thrown an exception.
             if (x4::has_expectation_failure(ctx)) {
                 // don't rollback iterator (mimicking exception-like behavior)
                 return false;
             }
         }
+        // `Right` failed, now try `Left` ------------------
 
-        // Right fails, now try Left
+        // Rollback iterator
+        // This rolls back the iterator position, including the amount skipped by
+        // `Right`'s skipper (`x4::skip_over(...)`).
+        first = orig_first;
         return this->left.parse(first, last, ctx, attr);
     }
 };
diff --git a/test/x4/difference.cpp b/test/x4/difference.cpp
index dc6543266..d561f60d5 100644
--- a/test/x4/difference.cpp
+++ b/test/x4/difference.cpp
@@ -15,14 +15,18 @@
 #include <iris/x4/operator/difference.hpp>
 #include <iris/x4/operator/sequence.hpp>
 #include <iris/x4/operator/kleene.hpp>
+#include <iris/x4/operator/plus.hpp>
+#include <iris/x4/directive/skip.hpp>
 
 #include <string>
 
 TEST_CASE("difference")
 {
     using x4::standard::char_;
+    using x4::standard::blank;
     using x4::standard::space;
     using x4::lit;
+    using x4::skip;
     using x4::_attr;
 
     IRIS_X4_ASSERT_CONSTEXPR_CTORS(char_ - 'a');
@@ -66,4 +70,20 @@ TEST_CASE("difference")
         ));
         CHECK(s == "abcdefghijk");
     }
+
+    {
+        // Rollback on failed parse
+        std::string s;
+        REQUIRE(parse(
+            "foo die ,",
+            +(
+                // RHS fails, so the difference parser should rollback iterator
+                // Note that RHS has a skipper, so the buffer skipped by `skip_over`
+                // should also be rolled back
+                char_ - skip(blank)[',']
+            ) >> skip(blank)[','],
+            s
+        ));
+        CHECK(s == "foo die"); // wrong implementation yields "foodie"
+    }
 }