diff --git a/jolt-core/clojure/core/00-syntax.clj b/jolt-core/clojure/core/00-syntax.clj
index ed85a2d..1cd83e8 100644
--- a/jolt-core/clojure/core/00-syntax.clj
+++ b/jolt-core/clojure/core/00-syntax.clj
@@ -14,6 +14,35 @@
 ;; (backend/recompile-defns!) once the analyzer is alive — same lifecycle as
 ;; the defmacro expanders.
 
+;; zero?/pos?/every? live HERE (not 20-coll): empty? below calls zero?, and
+;; the self-hosted analyzer — compiled right after the kernel tier — uses all
+;; three. Raw def+fn* per the file constraint. zero? checks number? itself
+;; (= doesn't throw); pos? inherits throwing from >.
+(def zero?
+  (fn* zero? [x]
+    (if (number? x)
+      (= x 0)
+      (throw (str "zero? requires a number, got: " x)))))
+
+;; pos? checks number? explicitly: this tier is recompiled by the staged pass,
+;; where a bare (> x 0) emits the native janet op that happily orders strings
+;; (the documented native-ops relaxation) — the guard keeps Clojure's throw.
+(def pos?
+  (fn* pos? [x]
+    (if (number? x)
+      (> x 0)
+      (throw (str "pos? requires a number, got: " x)))))
+
+;; Canonical every?: short-circuits on the first falsey result, so infinite
+;; seqs with an early counterexample terminate.
+(def every?
+  (fn* every? [pred coll]
+    (if (nil? (seq coll))
+      true
+      (if (pred (first coll))
+        (recur pred (next coll))
+        false))))
+
 ;; empty?/keys/vals live HERE (not 20-coll) because the expanders below call
 ;; them at expansion time, which first happens during the kernel-tier compile.
 ;; empty? keeps O(1) dispatch for counted things; only the lazy/list fallback
diff --git a/jolt-core/clojure/core/20-coll.clj b/jolt-core/clojure/core/20-coll.clj
index a0717ce..2ce0089 100644
--- a/jolt-core/clojure/core/20-coll.clj
+++ b/jolt-core/clojure/core/20-coll.clj
@@ -14,14 +14,8 @@
 ;; neg? throws on non-numbers via <, as Clojure's Numbers.isNeg does.
 (defn neg? [x] (< x 0))
 
-;; even?/odd? accept any integral number (jolt has one number type, so 2.0
-;; counts) and throw otherwise — Clojure's IllegalArgumentException wording.
-(defn even? [n]
-  (if (integer? n)
-    (zero? (rem n 2))
-    (throw (str "Argument must be an integer: " n))))
-
-(defn odd? [n] (not (even? n)))
+;; even?/odd? stay in the seed: (filter even? ...) is idiomatic-hot and the
+;; overlay versions cost an extra call layer per element (seq-pipe bench 4x).
 
 ;; Base is (hash-map), not the {} literal: a literal map is a struct that doesn't
 ;; canonicalize collection keys across representations (a {:a 1} literal vs
@@ -569,6 +563,7 @@
 (defn record? [x]             (some? (get x :jolt/deftype)))
 (defn uuid? [x]               (= (get x :jolt/type) :jolt/uuid))
 (defn inst? [x]               (= (get x :jolt/type) :jolt/inst))
+(defn char? [x]               (= (get x :jolt/type) :jolt/char))
 
 ;; inst-ms: epoch milliseconds of an instant; throws on a non-inst (Clojure
 ;; protocol behavior).
diff --git a/src/jolt/core.janet b/src/jolt/core.janet
index f4cb37f..a85ef58 100644
--- a/src/jolt/core.janet
+++ b/src/jolt/core.janet
@@ -229,9 +229,12 @@
   (if (and (number? x) (= x x) (< (if (< x 0) (- x) x) math/inf) (= x (math/floor x))) x
     (error (string op " requires an integer"))))
 
-(defn core-zero? [x] (= (need-num x "zero?") 0))
-(defn core-pos? [x] (> (need-num x "pos?") 0))
-# neg? / even? / odd? live in the Clojure collection tier (core/20-coll.clj).
+# zero? / pos? live in the syntax tier (core/00-syntax.clj) — empty? and the
+# analyzer use them; neg? lives in the collection tier (20-coll.clj).
+# even?/odd? are PERF-WALL residents: (filter even? ...) is idiomatic and the
+# overlay versions cost an extra call layer per element (seq-pipe bench 4x).
+(defn core-even? [n] (= 0 (% (need-int n "even?") 2)))
+(defn core-odd? [n] (not= 0 (% (need-int n "odd?") 2)))
 
 # Finite integral number: NaN and the infinities are NOT integers (floor of
 # inf is inf, so the naive floor check wrongly accepted them).
@@ -244,27 +247,8 @@
 # empty? now lives in the syntax tier (core/00-syntax.clj): the expanders
 # call it, so it must exist before the kernel tier compiles.
 
-(defn core-every? [pred coll]
-  # Short-circuit on the first false — and pull lazily so an infinite seq with an
-  # early false (e.g. (every? pos? (range))) returns rather than hanging. Walks
-  # cells via realize-ls directly (core-first/lazy-from are defined later).
-  (if (lazy-seq? coll)
-    (do
-      (var cur coll) (var result true) (var go true)
-      (while (and result go)
-        (let [cell (realize-ls cur)]
-          (if (or (nil? cell) (= :jolt/pending cell) (= 0 (length cell)))
-            (set go false)
-            (if (pred (in cell 0))
-              (let [rt (in cell 1)]
-                (if (nil? rt) (set go false) (set cur (ls-rest-cached cur rt))))
-              (set result false)))))
-      result)
-    (do
-      (var result true)
-      (each x (realize-for-iteration coll)
-        (if (not (pred x)) (do (set result false) (break))))
-      result)))
+# every? lives in the syntax tier (core/00-syntax.clj) — the analyzer uses it;
+# the canonical seq/first/next walk short-circuits lazy seqs the same way.
 
 # ============================================================
 # Math — Clojure semantics (variadic, / with one arg = reciprocal)
@@ -711,6 +695,8 @@
     # Indexed collections: an O(1) lazy view from index 1 (Clojure: rest of a
     # vector is a seq, not a vector). Slicing per step made first/rest loops
     # over concrete collections O(n^2) — a 20k rest-loop took two seconds.
+    # These stay ABOVE the set/map branches: rest-of-vector is every seq loop's
+    # hot path and must not pay the wrapper-tag checks.
     (pvec? coll) (let [a (pv->array coll)]
                    (if (<= (length a) 1) @[]
                      (make-lazy-seq (fn [] (indexed-cells a 1)))))
@@ -718,6 +704,16 @@
     (string? coll) (tuple ;(map make-char (string/bytes (string/slice coll 1))))
     (tuple? coll) (if (<= (length coll) 1) @[]
                     (make-lazy-seq (fn [] (indexed-cells coll 1))))
+    # Sets, maps and sorted colls rest via their seq. Without these branches
+    # they fell into the indexed fall-through, which walked the wrapper table's
+    # INTERNAL fields — (next #{1 2}) was (nil nil) until the canonical every?
+    # started seq-walking sets (seed-shrink round 4).
+    (set? coll) (if (= 0 (coll :cnt)) @[] (core-rest (phs-seq coll)))
+    (phm? coll) (if (= 0 (coll :cnt)) @[] (core-rest (tuple ;(phm-entries coll))))
+    (core-sorted? coll) (core-rest ((sorted-op coll :seq) coll))
+    # plain struct maps (untagged literals) rest via entries too
+    (and (struct? coll) (nil? (get coll :jolt/type)))
+      (core-rest (tuple ;(map-entries-of coll)))
     (if (<= (length coll) 1) @[]
       (make-lazy-seq (fn [] (indexed-cells coll 1))))))
 
@@ -2631,17 +2627,16 @@
     "seq?" core-seq?
     "coll?" core-coll?
     "identical?" core-identical?
-    "zero?" core-zero?
-    "pos?" core-pos?
     "integer?" core-integer?
     "list?" core-list?
-    "every?" core-every?
     "+" core-+
     "-" core-sub
     "*" core-*
     "/" core-/
     "inc" core-inc
     "dec" core-dec
+    "even?" core-even?
+    "odd?" core-odd?
     "mod" core-mod
     "rem" core-rem
     "quot" core-quot
@@ -2847,7 +2842,6 @@
     "double" core-double
     "float" core-float
     "char" core-char
-    "char?" core-char?
     # Hash
     "hash" core-hash
     "atom" core-atom
diff --git a/test/integration/clojure-test-suite-test.janet b/test/integration/clojure-test-suite-test.janet
index 9577396..7bce4d5 100644
--- a/test/integration/clojure-test-suite-test.janet
+++ b/test/integration/clojure-test-suite-test.janet
@@ -43,7 +43,10 @@
 # Raised 4004 -> 4034 / clean 66 -> 67 porting partition-all + repeatedly to the
 # overlay, which required fixing two leniencies (a char is not callable; take
 # validates its count) — correct beyond those fns, so the suite rose broadly.
-(def baseline-pass 4660)
+# Raised 4660 -> 4695 (observed 4703) after the seed-shrink rounds: rest/next
+# over sets/maps/sorted colls fixed (they walked the wrapper table's internal
+# fields), canonical halt-when/==/memfn. Margin covers rand-based suite jitter.
+(def baseline-pass 4695)
 # A file is "clean" when it ran with zero failures AND zero errors.
 (def baseline-clean-files 88)
 # Per-file wall-clock budget (seconds). Normal files finish in well under 1s, so
diff --git a/test/spec/predicates-spec.janet b/test/spec/predicates-spec.janet
index a75370c..fd77d90 100644
--- a/test/spec/predicates-spec.janet
+++ b/test/spec/predicates-spec.janet
@@ -205,3 +205,25 @@
   ["string NOT" "false" "(ifn? \"s\")"]
   ["number NOT" "false" "(ifn? 5)"]
   ["nil NOT"   "false" "(ifn? nil)"])
+
+# zero?/pos? throw on non-numbers (Numbers.isZero/isPos), as in Clojure;
+# every? short-circuits on the first falsey pred result, so an infinite seq
+# with an early counterexample terminates. char? is the tagged-value check.
+(defspec "predicates / numeric guards & every? (overlay moves)"
+  ["zero? zero"          "true"   "(zero? 0)"]
+  ["zero? nonzero"       "false"  "(zero? 3)"]
+  ["zero? throws"        :throws  "(zero? :a)"]
+  ["zero? throws on nil" :throws  "(zero? nil)"]
+  ["pos? positive"       "true"   "(pos? 2)"]
+  ["pos? zero"           "false"  "(pos? 0)"]
+  ["pos? throws"         :throws  "(pos? \"x\")"]
+  ["neg? throws"         :throws  "(neg? \"x\")"]
+  ["every? all pass"     "true"   "(every? odd? [1 3 5])"]
+  ["every? one fails"    "false"  "(every? odd? [1 2 5])"]
+  ["every? vacuous"      "true"   "(every? odd? [])"]
+  ["every? nil coll"     "true"   "(every? odd? nil)"]
+  ["every? infinite short-circuit" "false" "(every? pos? (range))"]
+  ["char? char"          "true"   "(char? \\x)"]
+  ["char? string"        "false"  "(char? \"x\")"]
+  ["char? number"        "false"  "(char? 97)"]
+  ["char? nil"           "false"  "(char? nil)"])
diff --git a/test/spec/sequences-spec.janet b/test/spec/sequences-spec.janet
index f851a75..2c9f3a8 100644
--- a/test/spec/sequences-spec.janet
+++ b/test/spec/sequences-spec.janet
@@ -290,3 +290,20 @@
    "(loop [xs (seq (vec (range 20000))) n 0] (if xs (recur (next xs) (inc n)) n))"]
   ["mapv scales (50k linear)"  "50000" "(count (mapv inc (vec (range 50000))))"]
   ["nested walk"               "[2 3]" "(vec (rest (mapv inc [0 1 2])))"])
+
+# rest/next over sets, maps, and sorted colls used to fall into the indexed
+# fall-through and walk the wrapper table's internal fields ((next #{1 2})
+# was (nil nil)) — exposed when the canonical every? started seq-walking.
+(defspec "sequences / rest & next over set-like colls"
+  ["next of set"        "true"  "(let [n (next #{1 2})] (and (= 1 (count n)) (contains? #{1 2} (first n))))"]
+  ["rest of set count"  "1"     "(count (rest #{1 2}))"]
+  ["next of singleton set" "nil" "(next #{1})"]
+  ["rest of empty set"  "0"     "(count (rest #{}))"]
+  ["next of map"        "true"  "(let [n (next {:a 1 :b 2})] (and (= 1 (count n)) (map-entry? (first n))))"]
+  ["next of singleton map" "nil" "(next {:a 1})"]
+  ["rest of sorted-set" "(quote (2 3))" "(rest (sorted-set 3 1 2))"]
+  ["next of sorted-map" "(quote ([2 :b]))" "(next (sorted-map 1 :a 2 :b))"]
+  ["every? over set"    "true"  "(every? pos? #{1 2 3})"]
+  ["every? over set false" "false" "(every? odd? #{1 2})"]
+  ["every? over sorted-set" "true" "(every? pos? (sorted-set 1 2 3))"]
+  ["every? over map entries" "true" "(every? map-entry? (seq {:a 1 :b 2}))"])