4: barbue: brill, a European flat-fish.—Bien fraîche: nice and fresh.Mr. Perrichon's culinary details are characteristic of his bourgeoisie: no «gentleman» in France meddles with such things.
5: par exemple: see List of Exclamations. The meaning here is: «I have everything in good shape… but, for an instance of a thing I have not got straight, there is this morning's call from a gentleman I donot know, and who did not leave his card.»
ACTE III, SCÈNE II
1: les Darinel: Note that proper names do aot take the mark of the plural in French. See acte IV, scène III.
2: Ah: This is an exclamation of joy: Ah! not the usual «Oh!» Henriette hereby shows her sympathies again, while Perrichon's are evidencedby his comments and silence respectively after the names of each of the young men.
3: Allons donc: as usual means «nonsense.» Tr., You, sir? No, sir!… which Mr. Perrichon resents: What does he mean by «No, sir!» What a fool this idiot is! Bête repeats the same idea as animal comically enough, bête meaning an «animal» primarily.
ACTE III, SCÈNE III
1: Il ne manquerait plus que ça: I should think not, indeed! Lit., «There would be lacking nothing but that (for the height ofabsurdity, etc.).»
2: un petit air pincé: a little look of conscious superiority. Pincé because of the «pinched lips» of a person who does not wish to speak what heknows. «Perrichon accuses Armand of betraying in his face an ever presentconsciousness of the service he has rendered although Armand never méntionsit.