diff --git a/src/traffic_server/InkAPI.cc b/src/traffic_server/InkAPI.cc
index 414affcc67a..f51c2a68d25 100644
--- a/src/traffic_server/InkAPI.cc
+++ b/src/traffic_server/InkAPI.cc
@@ -5430,6 +5430,15 @@ TSHttpTxnCacheLookupStatusGet(TSHttpTxn txnp, int *lookup_status)
   case HttpTransact::CACHE_LOOKUP_HIT_WARNING:
   case HttpTransact::CACHE_LOOKUP_HIT_FRESH:
     if (HttpTransact::need_to_revalidate(&sm->t_state)) {
+      // Note that in this case the object was determined to be fresh but there
+      // was a problem with the cached object for this request per
+      // need_to_revalidate(). need_to_revalidate() checks for issues such as
+      // the need to authenticate with the origin or the incoming request
+      // method doesn't equal the method of the request for the cached
+      // response. Issues like this are more accurately described as a MISS
+      // rather than STALE because they are not due to freshness (timing)
+      // issues but rather to characteristics that make the cached object
+      // inappropriate as a response to this request.
       *lookup_status = TS_CACHE_LOOKUP_MISS;
     } else {
       *lookup_status = TS_CACHE_LOOKUP_HIT_FRESH;