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Definition of pleased as punch - 4 dictionary results

Punch

  [puhnch]
Use pleased as punch in a Sentence
–noun
1. the chief male character in a Punch-and-Judy show.
—Idiom
2. pleased as Punch, highly pleased; delighted: They were pleased as Punch at having been asked to come along.
Origin:
short for punchinello
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pleased as punch
Punch   (pŭnch)   
n.  The quarrelsome hook-nosed husband of Judy in the comic puppet show Punch and Judy.

[Short for Punchinello.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

punch  (v.)
"to drive (cattle, etc.) by poking and prodding," c.1382, from O.Fr. ponchonner "to punch, prick, stamp," from ponchon "pointed tool, piercing weapon" (see punch (n.1)). Meaning "to stab, puncture" is from c.1440. Specific meaning of "to hit with the fist" first recorded 1530, probably influenced by punish. To punch a ticket, etc., is c.1440, probably from a shortening of puncheon "pointed tool," from O.Fr. ponchon.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

pleased as Punch

Delighted, as in We were pleased as Punch when they asked us to be god-parents. This term alludes to the character Punch in Punch and Judy shows, who is always very happy when his evil deeds succeed. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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