diff --git a/src/examples/parse.cc b/src/examples/parse.cc
index 93fabf4..f9f72bf 100644
--- a/src/examples/parse.cc
+++ b/src/examples/parse.cc
@@ -195,9 +195,10 @@ static int vt_parser( int fd, Parser::UTF8Parser *parser )
   }
 
   /* feed to parser */
+  Parser::Actions actions;
   for ( int i = 0; i < bytes_read; i++ ) {
-    std::list<Parser::Action *> actions = parser->input( buf[ i ] );
-    for ( std::list<Parser::Action *>::iterator j = actions.begin();
+    parser->input( buf[ i ], actions );
+    for ( Parser::Actions::iterator j = actions.begin();
 	  j != actions.end();
 	  j++ ) {
 
@@ -218,6 +219,7 @@ static int vt_parser( int fd, Parser::UTF8Parser *parser )
 
       fflush( stdout );
     }
+    actions.clear();
   }
 
   return 0;
diff --git a/src/frontend/terminaloverlay.cc b/src/frontend/terminaloverlay.cc
index ccb33be..0fe75ad 100644
--- a/src/frontend/terminaloverlay.cc
+++ b/src/frontend/terminaloverlay.cc
@@ -666,9 +666,10 @@ void PredictionEngine::new_user_byte( char the_byte, const Framebuffer &fb )
   }
   last_byte = the_byte;
 
-  list<Parser::Action *> actions( parser.input( the_byte ) );
+  Parser::Actions actions;
+  parser.input( the_byte, actions );
 
-  for ( list<Parser::Action *>::iterator it = actions.begin();
+  for ( Parser::Actions::iterator it = actions.begin();
         it != actions.end();
         it++ ) {
     Parser::Action *act = *it;
@@ -678,7 +679,8 @@ void PredictionEngine::new_user_byte( char the_byte, const Framebuffer &fb )
 	     act->name().c_str(), act->char_present ? act->ch : L'_' );
     */
 
-    if ( typeid( *act ) == typeid( Parser::Print ) ) {
+    const std::type_info& type_act = typeid( *act );
+    if ( type_act == typeid( Parser::Print ) ) {
       /* make new prediction */
 
       init_cursor( fb );
@@ -809,7 +811,7 @@ void PredictionEngine::new_user_byte( char the_byte, const Framebuffer &fb )
 	  newline_carriage_return( fb );
 	}
       }
-    } else if ( typeid( *act ) == typeid( Parser::Execute ) ) {
+    } else if ( type_act == typeid( Parser::Execute ) ) {
       if ( act->char_present && (act->ch == 0x0d) /* CR */ ) {
 	become_tentative();
 	newline_carriage_return( fb );
@@ -817,10 +819,10 @@ void PredictionEngine::new_user_byte( char the_byte, const Framebuffer &fb )
 	//	fprintf( stderr, "Execute 0x%x\n", act->ch );
 	become_tentative();	
       }
-    } else if ( typeid( *act ) == typeid( Parser::Esc_Dispatch ) ) {
+    } else if ( type_act == typeid( Parser::Esc_Dispatch ) ) {
       //      fprintf( stderr, "Escape sequence\n" );
       become_tentative();
-    } else if ( typeid( *act ) == typeid( Parser::CSI_Dispatch ) ) {
+    } else if ( type_act == typeid( Parser::CSI_Dispatch ) ) {
       if ( act->char_present && (act->ch == L'C') ) { /* right arrow */
 	init_cursor( fb );
 	if ( cursor().col < fb.ds.get_width() - 1 ) {
@@ -838,8 +840,6 @@ void PredictionEngine::new_user_byte( char the_byte, const Framebuffer &fb )
 	//	fprintf( stderr, "CSI sequence %lc\n", act->ch );
 	become_tentative();
       }
-    } else if ( typeid( *act ) == typeid( Parser::Clear ) ) {
-
     }
 
     delete act;
diff --git a/src/statesync/completeterminal.cc b/src/statesync/completeterminal.cc
index b1c5376..7cfe1bf 100644
--- a/src/statesync/completeterminal.cc
+++ b/src/statesync/completeterminal.cc
@@ -46,16 +46,17 @@ string Complete::act( const string &str )
 {
   for ( unsigned int i = 0; i < str.size(); i++ ) {
     /* parse octet into up to three actions */
-    list<Action *> actions( parser.input( str[ i ] ) );
+    parser.input( str[ i ], actions );
     
     /* apply actions to terminal and delete them */
-    for ( list<Action *>::iterator it = actions.begin();
+    for ( Actions::iterator it = actions.begin();
 	  it != actions.end();
 	  it++ ) {
       Action *act = *it;
       act->act_on_terminal( &terminal );
       delete act;
     }
+    actions.clear();
   }
 
   return terminal.read_octets_to_host();
diff --git a/src/statesync/completeterminal.h b/src/statesync/completeterminal.h
index f06f621..8dc8aca 100644
--- a/src/statesync/completeterminal.h
+++ b/src/statesync/completeterminal.h
@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ namespace Terminal {
     Terminal::Emulator terminal;
     Terminal::Display display;
 
+    // Only used locally by act(), but kept here as a performance optimization,
+    // to avoid construction/destruction.  It must always be empty
+    // outside calls to act() to keep horrible things from happening.
+    Parser::Actions actions;
+
     typedef std::list< std::pair<uint64_t, uint64_t> > input_history_type;
     input_history_type input_history;
     uint64_t echo_ack;
@@ -56,7 +61,7 @@ namespace Terminal {
 
   public:
     Complete( size_t width, size_t height ) : parser(), terminal( width, height ), display( false ),
-					      input_history(), echo_ack( 0 ) {}
+					      actions(), input_history(), echo_ack( 0 ) {}
     
     std::string act( const std::string &str );
     std::string act( const Parser::Action *act );
diff --git a/src/terminal/parser.cc b/src/terminal/parser.cc
index 9bbc31e..9db53c7 100644
--- a/src/terminal/parser.cc
+++ b/src/terminal/parser.cc
@@ -41,21 +41,19 @@
 const Parser::StateFamily Parser::family;
 
 static void append_or_delete( Parser::Action *act,
-			      std::list<Parser::Action *> &vec )
+			      Parser::Actions &vec )
 {
   assert( act );
 
-  if ( typeid( *act ) != typeid( Parser::Ignore ) ) {
+  if ( !act->ignore() ) {
     vec.push_back( act );
   } else {
     delete act;
   }
 }
 
-std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::Parser::input( wchar_t ch )
+void Parser::Parser::input( wchar_t ch, Actions &ret )
 {
-  std::list<Action *> ret;
-
   Transition tx = state->input( ch );
 
   if ( tx.next_state != NULL ) {
@@ -69,8 +67,6 @@ std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::Parser::input( wchar_t ch )
     append_or_delete( tx.next_state->enter(), ret );
     state = tx.next_state;
   }
-
-  return ret;
 }
 
 Parser::UTF8Parser::UTF8Parser()
@@ -80,7 +76,7 @@ Parser::UTF8Parser::UTF8Parser()
   buf[0] = '\0';
 }
 
-std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::UTF8Parser::input( char c )
+void Parser::UTF8Parser::input( char c, Actions &ret )
 {
   assert( buf_len < BUF_SIZE );
 
@@ -94,7 +90,6 @@ std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::UTF8Parser::input( char c )
 
   size_t total_bytes_parsed = 0;
   size_t orig_buf_len = buf_len;
-  std::list<Action *> ret;
 
   /* this routine is somewhat complicated in order to comply with
      Unicode 6.0, section 3.9, "Best Practices for using U+FFFD" */
@@ -138,7 +133,7 @@ std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::UTF8Parser::input( char c )
     /* Cast to unsigned for checks, because some
        platforms (e.g. ARM) use uint32_t as wchar_t,
        causing compiler warning on "pwc > 0" check. */
-    uint64_t pwcheck = pwc;
+    const uint32_t pwcheck = pwc;
 
     if ( pwcheck > 0x10FFFF ) { /* outside Unicode range */
       pwc = (wchar_t) 0xFFFD;
@@ -153,13 +148,10 @@ std::list<Parser::Action *> Parser::UTF8Parser::input( char c )
       pwc = (wchar_t) 0xFFFD;
     }
 
-    std::list<Action *> vec = parser.input( pwc );
-    ret.insert( ret.end(), vec.begin(), vec.end() );
+    parser.input( pwc, ret );
 
     total_bytes_parsed += bytes_parsed;
   }
-
-  return ret;
 }
 
 Parser::Parser::Parser( const Parser &other )
diff --git a/src/terminal/parser.h b/src/terminal/parser.h
index 3a55fd3..08d66f8 100644
--- a/src/terminal/parser.h
+++ b/src/terminal/parser.h
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@
    http://www.vt100.net/emu/dec_ansi_parser */
 
 #include <wchar.h>
-#include <list>
 #include <string.h>
 
 #include "parsertransition.h"
@@ -59,7 +58,7 @@ namespace Parser {
     Parser & operator=( const Parser & );
     ~Parser() {}
 
-    std::list<Action *> input( wchar_t ch );
+    void input( wchar_t ch, Actions &actions );
 
     bool operator==( const Parser &x ) const
     {
@@ -81,7 +80,7 @@ namespace Parser {
   public:
     UTF8Parser();
 
-    std::list<Action *> input( char c );
+    void input( char c, Actions &actions );
 
     bool operator==( const UTF8Parser &x ) const
     {
diff --git a/src/terminal/parseraction.cc b/src/terminal/parseraction.cc
index 019d5e7..29c260b 100644
--- a/src/terminal/parseraction.cc
+++ b/src/terminal/parseraction.cc
@@ -43,9 +43,9 @@ std::string Action::str( void )
   char thechar[ 10 ] = { 0 };
   if ( char_present ) {
     if ( iswprint( ch ) )
-      snprintf( thechar, 10, "(%lc)", (wint_t)ch );
+      snprintf( thechar, 10, "(%lc)", static_cast<wint_t>(ch) );
     else
-      snprintf( thechar, 10, "(0x%x)", (unsigned int)ch );
+      snprintf( thechar, 10, "(0x%x)", static_cast<unsigned int>(ch) );
   }
 
   return name() + std::string( thechar );
diff --git a/src/terminal/parseraction.h b/src/terminal/parseraction.h
index ce55490..3032d63 100644
--- a/src/terminal/parseraction.h
+++ b/src/terminal/parseraction.h
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #define PARSERACTION_HPP
 
 #include <string>
+#include <vector>
 
 namespace Terminal {
   class Emulator;
@@ -43,8 +44,8 @@ namespace Parser {
   class Action
   {
   public:
-    bool char_present;
     wchar_t ch;
+    bool char_present;
     mutable bool handled;
 
     std::string str( void );
@@ -53,14 +54,20 @@ namespace Parser {
 
     virtual void act_on_terminal( Terminal::Emulator * ) const {};
 
-    Action() : char_present( false ), ch( -1 ), handled( false ) {};
+    virtual bool ignore() const { return false; }
+
+    Action() : ch( -1 ), char_present( false ), handled( false ) {};
     virtual ~Action() {};
 
     virtual bool operator==( const Action &other ) const;
   };
 
+  typedef std::vector<Action *> Actions;
+
   class Ignore : public Action {
-  public: std::string name( void ) { return std::string( "Ignore" ); }
+  public:
+    std::string name( void ) { return std::string( "Ignore" ); }
+    bool ignore() const { return true; }
   };
   class Print : public Action {
   public:
diff --git a/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.cc b/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.cc
index 69cba24..521199a 100644
--- a/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.cc
+++ b/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.cc
@@ -78,18 +78,12 @@ Framebuffer::Framebuffer( int s_width, int s_height )
 void Framebuffer::scroll( int N )
 {
   if ( N >= 0 ) {
-    for ( int i = 0; i < N; i++ ) {
-      delete_line( ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row() );
-      ds.move_row( -1, true );
-    }
+    delete_line( ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row(), N );
+    ds.move_row( -N, true );
   } else {
     N = -N;
-
-    for ( int i = 0; i < N; i++ ) {
-      rows.insert( rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row(), newrow() );
-      rows.erase( rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 );
-      ds.move_row( 1, true );
-    }
+    insert_line( ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row(), N );
+    ds.move_row( N, true );
   }
 }
 
@@ -258,32 +252,62 @@ void DrawState::restore_cursor( void )
   new_grapheme();
 }
 
-void Framebuffer::insert_line( int before_row )
+void Framebuffer::insert_line( int before_row, int count )
 {
   if ( (before_row < ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row())
        || (before_row > ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1) ) {
     return;
   }
 
-  rows.insert( rows.begin() + before_row, newrow() );
-  rows.erase( rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 );
+  int max_scroll = ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 - before_row;
+  if ( count > max_scroll ) {
+    count = max_scroll;
+  }
+
+  if ( count == 0 ) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // delete old rows
+  rows_type::iterator start = rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 - count;
+  rows.erase( start, start + count );
+  // insert a block of dummy rows
+  start = rows.begin() + before_row;
+  rows.insert( start, count, Row( 0, 0 ) );
+  // then replace with real new rows
+  start = rows.begin() + before_row;
+  for (rows_type::iterator i = start; i < start + count; i++) {
+    *i = newrow();
+  }
 }
 
-void Framebuffer::delete_line( int row )
+void Framebuffer::delete_line( int row, int count )
 {
   if ( (row < ds.get_scrolling_region_top_row())
        || (row > ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row()) ) {
     return;
   }
 
-  int insertbefore = ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1;
-  if ( insertbefore == ds.get_height() ) {
-    rows.push_back( newrow() );
-  } else {
-    rows.insert( rows.begin() + insertbefore, newrow() );
+  int max_scroll = ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 - row;
+  if ( count > max_scroll ) {
+    count = max_scroll;
   }
 
-  rows.erase( rows.begin() + row );
+  if ( count == 0 ) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // delete old rows
+  rows_type::iterator start = rows.begin() + row;
+  rows.erase( start, start + count );
+  // insert a block of dummy rows
+  start = rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 - count;
+  rows.insert( start, count, Row( 0, 0 ) );
+  // then replace with real new rows
+  start = rows.begin() + ds.get_scrolling_region_bottom_row() + 1 - count; 
+  for (rows_type::iterator i = start; i < start + count; i++) {
+    *i = newrow();
+  }
 }
 
 void Row::insert_cell( int col, int background_color )
diff --git a/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.h b/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.h
index 720482d..b89a9b0 100644
--- a/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.h
+++ b/src/terminal/terminalframebuffer.h
@@ -326,8 +326,8 @@ namespace Terminal {
 
     void apply_renditions_to_current_cell( void );
 
-    void insert_line( int before_row );
-    void delete_line( int row );
+    void insert_line( int before_row, int count );
+    void delete_line( int row, int count );
 
     void insert_cell( int row, int col );
     void delete_cell( int row, int col );
diff --git a/src/terminal/terminalfunctions.cc b/src/terminal/terminalfunctions.cc
index 35c8055..14004ce 100644
--- a/src/terminal/terminalfunctions.cc
+++ b/src/terminal/terminalfunctions.cc
@@ -441,9 +441,7 @@ static void CSI_IL( Framebuffer *fb, Dispatcher *dispatch )
 {
   int lines = dispatch->getparam( 0, 1 );
 
-  for ( int i = 0; i < lines; i++ ) {
-    fb->insert_line( fb->ds.get_cursor_row() );
-  }
+  fb->insert_line( fb->ds.get_cursor_row(), lines );
 
   /* vt220 manual and Ecma-48 say to move to first column */
   /* but xterm and gnome-terminal don't */
@@ -457,9 +455,7 @@ static void CSI_DL( Framebuffer *fb, Dispatcher *dispatch )
 {
   int lines = dispatch->getparam( 0, 1 );
 
-  for ( int i = 0; i < lines; i++ ) {
-    fb->delete_line( fb->ds.get_cursor_row() );
-  }
+  fb->delete_line( fb->ds.get_cursor_row(), lines );
 
   /* same story -- xterm and gnome-terminal don't
      move to first column */