diff --git a/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py b/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
index 73ea1e7..76c1c5b 100644
--- a/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
+++ b/scripts/test_gate_decoys.py
@@ -960,8 +960,11 @@ i18n:
         # THE RATCHET — the one thing --expect-missing does not test for the cases above, so it is
         # tested here explicitly, in BOTH directions. A ceiling that only convicts upwards can be
         # left behind by a push that translated more than it recorded.
+        # The ABOVE case REMOVES privatebin's English (2026-10-05): it used to ADD it and rely on the rest
+        # of the catalog being untranslated, so the day the catalog reached full coverage (ceiling 0) the
+        # tree had nothing missing, the gate rightly said OK, and the case failed on its own premise.
         case_copy("FACT: ratchet — fewer strings translated than the ceiling records", clone,
-                  [(PB, add_en())], expect_rc=1,
+                  [(PB, strip_en)], expect_rc=1,
                   must_contain=("English coverage", "ABOVE"),
                   extra_args=("--expect-missing", "0"))
         case_copy("FACT: ratchet — more translated than the ceiling records", clone,