Punch and Judy

noun

A traditional sideshow often found at seaside resorts, consisting of various glove puppets operated by one person in a small tent-style booth theatre.

Meanings

nounPunch and Judy (plural Punch and Judies)

plural Punch and Judies

  1. A traditional sideshow often found at seaside resorts, consisting of various glove puppets operated by one person in a small tent-style booth theatre.
  2. attributiveA two-sided ideological battle, or contradictory arguing.

    Like all binary debates, while it's certainly true that questions about public service broadcasting and the role of the BBC have risen up the agenda recently, it is easy, even from the offices of the BBC in White City, to get stuck in a Punch and Judy discourse.

    2008 July 21, Mark Thompson., “How much money does the BBC need?”, in The Guardian

Translations

Danish Mester Jakel-teater
  • Mester Jakel-teatertraditional puppet show
Dutch Jan Klaassenvoorstelling
  • Jan Klaassenvoorstellingtraditional puppet show
German Kaspertheater, Kasperltheater
  • Kaspertheatertraditional puppet show
  • Kasperltheatertraditional puppet show
  • Kasperletheatertraditional puppet show
Polish Punch i Judy
  • Punch i Judytraditional puppet show
Cite this entry
APA

Punch and Judy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punch%20and%20Judy

MLA

“Punch and Judy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punch%20and%20Judy. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Punch and Judy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punch%20and%20Judy.

Source: Punch and Judy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.