diff --git a/src/browser.c b/src/browser.c
index 0dd36100..9e7a1e36 100644
--- a/src/browser.c
+++ b/src/browser.c
@@ -523,20 +523,15 @@ void browser_refresh(void)
 	size_t infolen;
 		/* The length of the file information in columns. */
 	int infomaxlen = 7;
-		/* The maximum length of the file information in
-		 * columns: seven for "--", "(dir)", or the file size,
-		 * and 12 for "(parent dir)". */
+		/* The maximum length of the file information in columns:
+		 * normally seven, but will be twelve for "(parent dir)". */
 	bool dots = (COLS >= 15 && namelen >= longest - infomaxlen);
-		/* Do we put an ellipsis before the filename?  Don't set
-		 * this to TRUE if we have fewer than 15 columns (i.e.
-		 * one column for padding, plus seven columns for a
-		 * filename other than ".."). */
-	char *disp = display_string(thename, dots ? namelen -
-		longest + infomaxlen + 4 : 0, longest, FALSE);
-		/* If we put an ellipsis before the filename, reserve
-		 * one column for padding, plus seven columns for "--",
-		 * "(dir)", or the file size, plus three columns for the
-		 * ellipsis. */
+		/* Whether to put an ellipsis before the filename?  We don't
+		 * waste space on dots when there are fewer than 15 columns. */
+	char *disp = display_string(thename, dots ?
+		namelen + infomaxlen + 4 - longest : 0, longest, FALSE);
+		/* The filename (or a fragment of it) in displayable format.
+		 * When a fragment, account for dots plus one space padding. */
 
 	/* If this is the selected item, start its highlighting, and
 	 * remember its location to be able to place the cursor on it. */
@@ -548,7 +543,7 @@ void browser_refresh(void)
 
 	blank_line(edit, line, col, longest);
 
-	/* If dots is TRUE, we will display something like "...ename". */
+	/* If the name is too long, we display something like "...ename". */
 	if (dots)
 	    mvwaddstr(edit, line, col, "...");
 	mvwaddstr(edit, line, dots ? col + 3 : col, disp);
@@ -557,21 +552,16 @@ void browser_refresh(void)
 
 	col += longest;
 
-	/* Show information about the file.  We don't want to report
-	 * file sizes for links, so we use lstat(). */
+	/* Show information about the file: "--" for symlinks (except when
+	 * they point to a directory) and for files that have disappeared,
+	 * "(dir)" for directories, and the file size for normal files. */
 	if (lstat(filelist[i], &st) == -1 || S_ISLNK(st.st_mode)) {
-	    /* If the file doesn't exist (i.e. it's been deleted while
-	     * the file browser is open), or it's a symlink that doesn't
-	     * point to a directory, display "--". */
 	    if (stat(filelist[i], &st) == -1 || !S_ISDIR(st.st_mode))
 		info = mallocstrcpy(NULL, "--");
-	    /* If the file is a symlink that points to a directory,
-	     * display it as a directory. */
 	    else
 		/* TRANSLATORS: Try to keep this at most 7 characters. */
 		info = mallocstrcpy(NULL, _("(dir)"));
 	} else if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
-	    /* If the file is a directory, display it as such. */
 	    if (strcmp(thename, "..") == 0) {
 		/* TRANSLATORS: Try to keep this at most 12 characters. */
 		info = mallocstrcpy(NULL, _("(parent dir)"));
@@ -584,6 +574,7 @@ void browser_refresh(void)
 
 	    info = charalloc(infomaxlen + 1);
 
+	    /* Massage the file size into a human-readable form. */
 	    if (st.st_size < (1 << 10))
 		modifier = ' ';  /* bytes */
 	    else if (st.st_size < (1 << 20)) {
@@ -597,8 +588,7 @@ void browser_refresh(void)
 		modifier = 'G';  /* gigabytes */
 	    }
 
-	    /* Show the size if less than a terabyte,
-	     * otherwise show "(huge)". */
+	    /* Show the size if less than a terabyte, else show "(huge)". */
 	    if (result < (1 << 10))
 		sprintf(info, "%4ju %cB", (intmax_t)result, modifier);
 	    else