Prenait le dessus. — Got the upper hand

36. Se débrouiller. — Take care of themselves ; literally, disentanglethemselves (from the difficulty in which they are).

37. Il me prenait bien . . . d'éreinter l'hôte. — I must confess, I felt a longing to beat the owner soundly. Bien is hère used as in XXV., 22, to emphasize the verb. Démangeaison is, literally, an itching, from the verb démanger. Éreinter is, literally, to break the back, from rein, the reins, the loins. Éreinté is familiarly used in the sensé of tired out physically ; as, je suis éreinté, I am tired to death, I am used up.

38. // ne s'agissait pas seulement. — It was not sufficient. For the explanation of the verb s'agir, see XXVII., 19.