diff --git a/compiler/mir/proto_mir.nim b/compiler/mir/proto_mir.nim
index 13e8982c2e5..b0c1784b553 100644
--- a/compiler/mir/proto_mir.nim
+++ b/compiler/mir/proto_mir.nim
@@ -800,12 +800,7 @@ proc exprToPmir(c: TranslateCtx, result: var seq[ProtoItem], n: PNode, sink: boo
     recurse(selectWhenBranch(n, c.pickVm), sink)
   of nkStmtListExpr:
     recurse(n.lastSon, sink)
-    # HACK: inherit the type from the child node. This prevents incorrectly
-    #       typed array constructions (a sem bug) from appearing to work
-    #       correctly (see
-    #       tests/lang_exprs/tempty_typed_expressions_issues.nim)
-    result.add ProtoItem(orig: n, typ: result[^1].typ, kind: pirStmtList)
-    #node pirStmtList
+    node pirStmtList
   of nkPragmaBlock:
     # the pragma is uninteresting here, just skip it
     recurse(n.lastSon, sink)
diff --git a/compiler/sem/semcall.nim b/compiler/sem/semcall.nim
index f9646ed0352..f46b1d65bbf 100644
--- a/compiler/sem/semcall.nim
+++ b/compiler/sem/semcall.nim
@@ -570,7 +570,10 @@ proc semResolvedCall(c: PContext, x: TCandidate,
   instGenericConvertersSons(c, result, x)
   result[0] = newSymNode(finalCallee, getCallLineInfo(result[0]))
   result.typ = finalCallee.typ[0]
-  result = updateDefaultParams(c.config, result)
+  if gp.isGenericParams:
+    # default parameters only need to be updated for instantiated generic
+    # routines. For normal routines they're already correct
+    result = updateDefaultParams(c.config, result)
 
 proc semOverloadedCall(c: PContext, n, nOrig: PNode,
                        filter: TSymKinds, flags: TExprFlags): PNode {.nosinks.} =
@@ -748,7 +751,11 @@ proc searchForBorrowProc(c: PContext, startScope: PScope, fn: PSym): PSym =
       x.addSonSkipIntLit(t.baseOfDistinct(c.graph, c.idgen), c.idgen)
     else:
       x = t.baseOfDistinct(c.graph, c.idgen)
-    call.add(newNodeIT(nkEmpty, fn.info, x))
+    let arg = newNodeIT(nkEmpty, fn.info, x)
+    # mark the node as analysed so that operand analysis doesn't analyze it
+    # again
+    arg.flags.incl nfSem
+    call.add(arg)
   if hasDistinct:
     let filter = if fn.kind in {skProc, skFunc}: {skProc, skFunc} else: {fn.kind}
     var resolved = semOverloadedCall(c, call, call, filter, {})
diff --git a/compiler/sem/semexprs.nim b/compiler/sem/semexprs.nim
index 66dbc8bac7e..03ab3b507c2 100644
--- a/compiler/sem/semexprs.nim
+++ b/compiler/sem/semexprs.nim
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ proc semOperand(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
       result = c.config.newError(n, PAstDiag(kind: adSemProcHasNoConcreteType))
     elif result.typ.kind in {tyVar, tyLent}:
       result = newDeref(result)
+      result.flags.incl nfSem
   elif {efWantStmt, efAllowStmt} * flags != {}:
     result.typ = newTypeS(tyVoid, c)
   else:
@@ -93,6 +94,7 @@ proc semExprWithType(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
 
   elif result.typ.kind in {tyVar, tyLent}:
     result = newDeref(result)
+    result.flags.incl nfSem
 
 proc semExprNoDeref(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
   result = semExprCheck(c, n, flags)
@@ -1840,7 +1842,8 @@ proc dotTransformation(c: PContext, n: PNode): PNode =
             PAstDiag(kind: adSemExpectedIdentifierWithExprContext,
                      expr: n))
 
-  result.add copyTree(n[0])
+  # the operand was already sem'ed immediately prior. No need to copy it
+  result.add n[0]
 
   if result[0].kind == nkError: # handle the potential ident error
     result = c.config.wrapError(result)
@@ -2807,6 +2810,8 @@ proc setMs(n: PNode, s: PSym): PNode =
   n[0] = newSymNode(s)
   n[0].info = n.info
 
+proc asBracketExpr(c: PContext; n: PNode): PNode
+
 proc semMagic(c: PContext, n: PNode, s: PSym, flags: TExprFlags): PNode =
   # this is a hotspot in the compiler!
   result = n
@@ -2891,6 +2896,14 @@ proc semMagic(c: PContext, n: PNode, s: PSym, flags: TExprFlags): PNode =
   of mSizeOf:
     markUsed(c, n.info, s)
     result = semSizeOf(c, setMs(n, s))
+  of mArrGet:
+    # this could be a rewritten subscript operation
+    let b = asBracketExpr(c, n)
+    if b.isNil:
+      # it's not
+      result = semDirectOp(c, n, flags)
+    else:
+      result = semArrayAccess(c, b, flags)
   else:
     result = semDirectOp(c, n, flags)
 
@@ -3407,22 +3420,25 @@ proc semExport(c: PContext, n: PNode): PNode =
 
         s = nextOverloadIter(o, c, a)
 
+func containsArrGet(n: PNode): bool =
+  ## Analyses `n` for whether it is or could be the ``mArrGet`` magic.
+  case n.kind
+  of nkSymChoices:
+    for it in n.items:
+      if it.kind == nkSym and it.sym.magic == mArrGet:
+        result = true
+        break
+  of nkSym:
+    # can happen in rare cases
+    result = n.sym.magic == mArrGet
+  else:
+    result = false
 
 proc shouldBeBracketExpr(n: PNode): bool =
   assert n.kind in nkCallKinds
   let a = n[0]
   if a.kind in nkCallKinds:
-    let b = a[0]
-    if b.kind in nkSymChoices:
-      for i in 0..<b.len:
-        if b[i].kind == nkSym and b[i].sym.magic == mArrGet:
-          result = true
-          break
-    elif b.kind == nkSym and b.sym.magic == mArrGet:
-      # can happen in rare cases
-      result = true
-
-    if result:
+    if containsArrGet(a[0]):
       let be = newNodeI(nkBracketExpr, n.info)
       for i in 1..<a.len:
         be.add(a[i])
@@ -3430,7 +3446,11 @@ proc shouldBeBracketExpr(n: PNode): bool =
 
 proc asBracketExpr(c: PContext; n: PNode): PNode =
   proc isGeneric(c: PContext; n: PNode): bool =
-    if n.kind in {nkIdent, nkAccQuoted}:
+    # XXX: this guesswork is meant to figure out whether a ``[](x, y)``
+    #      expression *could* have been a ``x[y]`` expression where `x` is a
+    #      generic procedure
+    case n.kind
+    of nkIdent, nkAccQuoted:
       let s = qualifiedLookUp(c, n, {})
       if s.isError:
         # XXX: move to propagating nkError, skError, and tyError
@@ -3438,16 +3458,23 @@ proc asBracketExpr(c: PContext; n: PNode): PNode =
         result = false
       else:
         result = s != nil and isGenericRoutineStrict(s)
+    of nkSym:
+      result = isGenericRoutineStrict(n.sym)
+    of nkSymChoices:
+      for it in n.items:
+        if isGenericRoutineStrict(it.sym):
+          result = true
+          break
+    else:
+      result = false
 
   assert n.kind in nkCallKinds
   if n.len > 1 and isGeneric(c, n[1]):
     let b = n[0]
-    if b.kind in nkSymChoices:
-      for i in 0..<b.len:
-        if b[i].kind == nkSym and b[i].sym.magic == mArrGet:
-          result = newNodeI(nkBracketExpr, n.info)
-          for i in 1..<n.len: result.add(n[i])
-          return result
+    if containsArrGet(b):
+      result = newNodeI(nkBracketExpr, n.info)
+      for i in 1..<n.len: result.add(n[i])
+      return result
   return nil
 
 proc hoistParamsUsedInDefault(c: PContext, call, letSection, defExpr: var PNode) =
@@ -3770,7 +3797,15 @@ proc semExpr(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
   of nkTupleConstr:
     result = semTupleConstr(c, n, flags)
   of nkCurly: result = semSetConstr(c, n)
-  of nkBracket: result = semArrayConstr(c, n, flags)
+  of nkBracket:
+    if n.typ == nil or (tfVarargs notin n.typ.flags and
+       n.typ.skipTypes(abstractInst).kind != tySequence):
+      result = semArrayConstr(c, n, flags)
+    else:
+      # HACK: there's not enough information here to re-type an already
+      #       typed varargs container, so it gets passed on for
+      #       ``sigmatch`` to take care of re-typing it
+      result = n
   of nkObjConstr: result = semObjConstr(c, n, flags)
   of nkLambdaKinds:
     result = semProcAnnotation(c, n)
@@ -3792,9 +3827,20 @@ proc semExpr(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
     checkSonsLen(n, 1, c.config)
     result[0] = semAddrArg(c, n[0])
     result.typ = makePtrType(c, result[0].typ)
-  of nkHiddenAddr, nkHiddenDeref:
+  of nkHiddenAddr:
+    checkSonsLen(n, 1, c.config)
+    result = semExpr(c, n[0], flags)
+  of nkHiddenDeref:
     checkSonsLen(n, 1, c.config)
-    n[0] = semExpr(c, n[0], flags)
+    # the type of the deref can be synthesized, so try to keep it
+    let operand = semExpr(c, n[0], flags)
+    case operand.typ.kind
+    of tyVar, tyLent:
+      result = newTreeIT(nkHiddenDeref, n.info, operand.typ.base): operand
+    else:
+      # an error or something else. Don't complain and pass it on, the
+      # receiver will figure out what to do with it
+      result = operand
   of nkCast: result = c.config.extract(semCast(c, n))
   of nkIfExpr, nkIfStmt: result = semIf(c, n, flags)
   of nkConv:
@@ -3802,7 +3848,8 @@ proc semExpr(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
     result = semConv(c, n)
   of nkHiddenStdConv, nkHiddenSubConv, nkHiddenCallConv:
     checkSonsLen(n, 2, c.config)
-    considerGenSyms(c, n)
+    # discard the hidden conversion. It's restored again (or not) if necessary
+    result = semExpr(c, n[1], flags)
   of nkStringToCString, nkCStringToString, nkObjDownConv, nkObjUpConv:
     checkSonsLen(n, 1, c.config)
     considerGenSyms(c, n)
@@ -3811,7 +3858,9 @@ proc semExpr(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
     considerGenSyms(c, n)
   of nkCheckedFieldExpr:
     checkMinSonsLen(n, 2, c.config)
-    considerGenSyms(c, n)
+    # discard the check; analysis of the field expression will restore it if
+    # necessary
+    result = semExpr(c, n[0], flags)
   of nkTableConstr:
     result = semTableConstr(c, n)
   of nkClosedSymChoice, nkOpenSymChoice:
@@ -3897,6 +3946,10 @@ proc semExpr(c: PContext, n: PNode, flags: TExprFlags = {}): PNode =
         c.p.localBindStmts.add n
     else:
       localReport(c.config, n, reportSem rsemInvalidBindContext)
+  of nkNimNodeLit:
+    checkSonsLen(n, 1, c.config)
+    # the content is raw AST, so there's nothing to validate
+    result = copyNodeWithKids(n)
   of nkError:
     discard "ignore errors for now"
   else:
diff --git a/compiler/sem/sigmatch.nim b/compiler/sem/sigmatch.nim
index e14d99681bf..9d3f3184b27 100644
--- a/compiler/sem/sigmatch.nim
+++ b/compiler/sem/sigmatch.nim
@@ -2043,6 +2043,7 @@ proc implicitConv(kind: TNodeKind, f: PType, arg: PNode, m: TCandidate,
 
   result.add c.graph.emptyNode
   result.add arg
+  result.flags.incl nfSem
 
 proc isLValue(c: PContext; n: PNode): bool {.inline.} =
   case isAssignable(nil, n)
@@ -2111,9 +2112,11 @@ proc userConvMatch(c: PContext, m: var TCandidate, f, a: PType,
                   newTreeIT(nkHiddenAddr, arg.info, conv.typ[1], copyTree(arg))
                 else:
                   copyTree(arg))
+      result.flags.incl nfSem
 
       if dest.kind in {tyVar, tyLent}:
         result = newDeref(result)
+        result.flags.incl nfSem
 
       inc(m.convMatches)
 
@@ -2278,10 +2281,13 @@ proc paramTypesMatchAux(m: var TCandidate, f, a: PType,
         # Don't build the type in-place because `evaluated` and `arg` may point
         # to the same object and we'd end up creating recursive types (#9255)
         let typ = newTypeS(tyStatic, c)
+        evaluated.flags.incl nfSem
         typ.sons = @[evaluated.typ]
         typ.n = evaluated
+        typ.flags.incl tfHasStatic
         arg = copyTree(arg) # fix #12864
         arg.typ = typ
+        arg.flags.incl nfSem
         a = typ
       else:
         if m.callee.kind == tyGenericBody:
@@ -2411,11 +2417,9 @@ proc paramTypesMatchAux(m: var TCandidate, f, a: PType,
     if arg.typ.isNil():
       result = arg
     elif skipTypes(arg.typ, abstractVar-{tyTypeDesc}).kind == tyTuple or
-         m.inheritancePenalty > oldInheritancePenalty:
+         m.inheritancePenalty > oldInheritancePenalty or
+         arg.typ.isEmptyContainer:
       result = implicitConv(nkHiddenSubConv, f, arg, m, c)
-    elif arg.typ.isEmptyContainer:
-      result = arg.copyTree
-      result.typ = getInstantiatedType(c, arg, m, f)
     else:
       result = arg
   of isBothMetaConvertible:
@@ -2629,7 +2633,7 @@ proc prepareOperand(c: PContext; formal: PType; a, aOrig: PNode): PNode =
   if formal.kind == tyUntyped:
     assert formal.len != 1
     result = aOrig
-  elif a.typ.isNil:
+  elif nfSem notin a.flags:
     # XXX This is unsound! 'formal' can differ from overloaded routine to
     # overloaded routine!
     result = c.semOperand(c, a, {efAllowStmt})
@@ -2641,9 +2645,10 @@ proc prepareOperand(c: PContext; formal: PType; a, aOrig: PNode): PNode =
        result.typ.kind in {tyVar, tyLent} and
        c.matchedConcept.isNil():
       result = newDeref(result)
+      result.flags.incl nfSem
 
 proc prepareOperand(c: PContext; a: PNode): PNode =
-  if a.typ.isNil:
+  if nfSem notin a.flags:
     result = c.semOperand(c, a)
   else:
     result = a
@@ -2687,6 +2692,43 @@ proc incrIndexType(t: PType) =
   assert t.kind == tyArray
   inc t[0].n[1].intVal
 
+proc matchContainer(m: var TCandidate, formal: PType, n: PNode): PNode =
+  ## Takes an already typed varargs container and re-analyses and matches
+  ## each item against the formal type, producing an AST of the shape the
+  ## usual (untyped -> typed) matching would have produced.
+  assert formal.kind == tyVarargs
+  var hasError = false
+
+  result = shallowCopy(n)
+  result.typ = arrayConstr(m.c, n.info)
+  result.typ.flags.incl tfVarargs
+
+  for i, it in n.pairs:
+    let
+      it = prepareOperand(m.c, it)
+      arg = paramTypesMatchAux(m, formal, it.typ, it)
+
+    if arg.isNil:
+      # it's a legacy error that was already reported
+      result[i] = it
+    elif arg.isError:
+      result[i] = arg
+      hasError = true
+    else:
+      result[i] = arg
+
+    incrIndexType(result.typ)
+
+  if hasError:
+    result = m.c.config.wrapError(result)
+  else:
+    if result.len > 0:
+      # update the array's type:
+      result.typ[1] = result[0].typ
+      propagateToOwner(result.typ, result.typ[1])
+    # a conversion is required to go from array -> varargs
+    result = implicitConv(nkHiddenStdConv, formal, result, m, m.c)
+
 template isVarargsUntyped(x): untyped =
   x.kind == tyVarargs and x[0].kind == tyUntyped
 
@@ -2958,6 +3000,10 @@ proc matchesAux(c: PContext, n, nOrig: PNode, m: var TCandidate, marker: var Int
 
         if f != formalLen - 1: # not the last formal param
           container = nil      # xxx: is this more vararg stuff?
+      elif formal.typ.kind == tyVarargs:
+        # it's a varargs to varargs match (only possible during re-typing)
+        operand = matchContainer(m, formal.typ, arg)
+        setSon(m.call, formal.position + 1, operand)
       else:
         setSon(m.call, formal.position + 1, arg)
 
@@ -3099,6 +3145,13 @@ proc matchesAux(c: PContext, n, nOrig: PNode, m: var TCandidate, marker: var Int
             # pick the formal from the end, so a regular param can follow a
             # varargs: 'foo(x: int, y: varargs[typed], blk: untyped): typed'
             f = max(f, formalLen - n.len + a + 1)
+          elif formal.typ.kind == tyVarargs and arg.kind == nkBracket and
+               container.isNil:
+            # a pre-existing container matches against a varargs type (only
+            # possible during re-typing)
+            operand = matchContainer(m, formal.typ, arg)
+            setSon(m.call, formal.position + 1, operand)
+            inc f
           elif formal.typ.kind != tyVarargs or container.isNil(): # regular arg
             setSon(m.call, formal.position + 1, arg)
             inc f
@@ -3347,6 +3400,10 @@ proc matches*(c: PContext, n, nOrig: PNode, m: var TCandidate) =
         if defaultValue.isError:
           # xxx: change this to propagate
           c.config.localReport(defaultValue)
+        else:
+          # the expression is already typed and valid; don't analyze it again,
+          # which might lose the type
+          defaultValue.flags.incl nfSem
 
         if nfDefaultRefsParam in formal.ast.flags:
           m.call.flags.incl nfDefaultRefsParam
diff --git a/compiler/utils/astrepr.nim b/compiler/utils/astrepr.nim
index 13b1cbbdb9f..ac898098b12 100644
--- a/compiler/utils/astrepr.nim
+++ b/compiler/utils/astrepr.nim
@@ -258,7 +258,8 @@ var
         trfShowSymKind,
         trfShowNodeErrors,
         trfShowNodeIds,
-        trfShowNodeLineInfo
+        trfShowNodeLineInfo,
+        trfShowNodeFlags
       }
       base
     ## default tree repr config for compiler tracing, meant to be compact as
diff --git a/tests/lang_exprs/tempty_typed_expressions.nim b/tests/lang_exprs/tempty_typed_expressions.nim
index 005d763435c..19c31085dfb 100644
--- a/tests/lang_exprs/tempty_typed_expressions.nim
+++ b/tests/lang_exprs/tempty_typed_expressions.nim
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@ doAssert get2(@[]) == 0
 
 # more complex case: statement-list expressions
 discard get((discard; nil))
-# XXX: not working yet
-#discard get((discard; []))
+discard get((discard; []))
 discard get((discard; @[]))
 discard get((discard; {}))