15: Daniel: observe this delightful slip of the tongue. Perrichon has Daniel on the brain. Cf. the slip he makes in the last words of the play.
16: je tombe sur un terre-neuve: I strike a regular Newfoundland dog (for rescuing people).
17: en ville: out. Majorin tells this lie to «save his face» after Perrichon's withdrawn invitation to dinner (see acte III, scène V.)
18: c'est-à-dire que: I say that.
19: je te retrouve: now you are yourself again! Lit., «I find you again (as I have always known you).»
20: l'envoi… part: till the wedding cards are out. French people mail notices of weddings, deaths, and even births to all their friends. Such notices are called billets de faire-part, or «cards of notification.»
ACTE III, SCÈNE VIII
1: mes actions baissent: a stock-exchange metaphor.
2: ça me… peine: I hate to do it. Peine is never physical pain.
3: Nous y voilà: Now we're in for it, or Now it's coming!