diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index fde4c94..1dae0cd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -48,9 +48,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install fish
         run: |
           sudo apt-get -o Acquire::Retries=3 update -qq
-          # apt-utils first: its absence is what makes debconf print
-          # "delaying package configuration" on every install below.
-          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y apt-utils software-properties-common
+          # apt-utils on its own, before anything else: bundled into the
+          # same transaction as another package, apt-utils prints the
+          # "delaying package configuration" notice anyway (it configures
+          # last in dependency order, same as any other transaction
+          # member) -- only a fully separate, already-finished install
+          # ahead of the rest actually silences it.
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y apt-utils
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y software-properties-common
           sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:fish-shell/release-4
           sudo apt-get -o Acquire::Retries=3 update -qq
           sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y fish
@@ -81,9 +86,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get -o Acquire::Retries=3 update -qq
-          # apt-utils first: its absence is what makes debconf print
-          # "delaying package configuration" on every install below.
-          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y apt-utils software-properties-common
+          # apt-utils on its own, before anything else: see the "Install
+          # fish" step's identical comment in the test job.
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y apt-utils
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y software-properties-common
           sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:fish-shell/release-4
           sudo apt-get -o Acquire::Retries=3 update -qq
           sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y pandoc python3-yaml fish