A frozen comparison also bounds every ancestor child below the first unequal code, independently of any later target choices.
Once refinement freezes the comparison downward, its entire specification subtree is bounded, including the newly compared code.
A non-discrete rejected node was rejected by codes before any row comparison.
Code pruning retains the incumbent and returns a settled machine; it does not install a key from the unvisited subtree.
The shared prune tail returns below the frozen comparison's receiving level only when the cheap boundary supplies its target.
A downward code prune bounds each ancestor child at and above its receiving level. The prefix includes that child's code, one level below the receiving sweep, so it retains the first unequal comparison.
A code-supported prune has the generic fragment bound and transports semantic ancestor coverage through its actual nonlocal exit. The cheap return below the unequal code is a separate local obligation.