> At the risk of stretching the analogy, maybe the equivalent is "code only those things that people at a junior level would recognize for what they do".

Spot on. And I would add: Keeping in mind that junior level person could be under excessive stress. Perhaps something has failed. Perhaps they are looking at that section of code for the first time.

Context matters. It affects readability, comprehension, and understanding.

Straightforward > Cleverness