How would you explain to a beginner why a number beat forecast but the currency fell anyway?

This is one of the most common sources of confusion for anyone new to trading around news: a report comes in above the forecast, which sounds unambiguously good, and the currency drops anyway. It isn't a trick or a broken chart. Markets trade on the gap between what was expected and what happens, and "expected" includes things that never show up in the headline forecast number: whispers ahead of the release, guidance buried in the same report, or a downward revision to the previous month that cancels out the good headline.

We saw a version of this in September's flash PMI releases: the eurozone composite rose to a multi-year high while price pressures also picked up, and the UK composite fell even as some sub-components beat expectations (full report). Good and bad were both true in the same release, depending on which line you read.

If you've had to explain this to yourself or a friend, we'd like to hear how you did it:

• What's the simplest way you've found to explain "beats forecast but the currency falls anyway" to someone new?
• Do you use a real example from your own trading, or a general rule of thumb?
• What's a phrase or mental model that finally made it click for you?
• Do you check for revisions to the previous month's figure now, having been caught out by one before?

How to read an economic calendar explains actual, forecast and previous readings, which is the starting point for this whole puzzle. Please keep replies friendly and practical. Posts that promise a direction or sell signals will be removed.