diff --git a/frontend/src/styles/app.css b/frontend/src/styles/app.css
index 55b13a4..fa32dd1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/styles/app.css
+++ b/frontend/src/styles/app.css
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-/* App-global overrides. Imported in main.js AFTER 'vuetify/styles' so
-   these win on equal selector specificity by source order. */
+/* App-global overrides. Imported in main.js after 'vuetify/styles', but
+   Vite's production bundler reorders CSS chunks so source order is not a
+   reliable winner against node_modules CSS at equal specificity. Rules
+   here either out-specify Vuetify's default or use !important on the
+   exact properties that need to win. */
 
 /* Tooltip readability fix (operator-flagged 2026-05-28).
    Vuetify's default v-tooltip pairs `on-surface-variant` TEXT with an
@@ -12,10 +15,19 @@
    Tooltips want the inverse of muted body text — a dark, slightly
    elevated panel with the HIGH-contrast parchment text. Fixing it here
    (not by changing on-surface-variant) keeps captions/empty-states
-   correct while making every tooltip in the app legible. */
+   correct while making every tooltip in the app legible.
+
+   `!important` on the contrast properties: this rule ties Vuetify's
+   default at specificity (.v-tooltip > .v-overlay__content), and in a
+   Vite production build the node_modules CSS can land after app.css in
+   the final stylesheet regardless of import order, so source-order wins
+   aren't reliable. !important removes that fragility for the two
+   properties whose drift made tooltips unreadable; the cosmetic border
+   and shadow don't need it (Vuetify doesn't set them). Operator
+   re-flagged 2026-05-29 on the deployed :latest after PR #33. */
 .v-tooltip > .v-overlay__content {
-  background: rgb(var(--v-theme-surface-bright));   /* slate #2C313A */
-  color: rgb(var(--v-theme-on-surface));            /* parchment #E8E4D8 */
+  background: rgb(var(--v-theme-surface-bright)) !important;  /* slate #2C313A */
+  color: rgb(var(--v-theme-on-surface)) !important;           /* parchment #E8E4D8 */
   border: 1px solid rgb(var(--v-theme-on-surface-variant) / 0.25);
   box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
 }