Word.ws English Dictionary

no show without Punch

no show without Punch phrase: a show or endeavor cannot proceed without its star or main purpose.

Phrase

no show without Punch

  1. A show or endeavor cannot proceed without its star or main purpose.
    • The demand for computer installations and more accurate and effective information services grows and will continue to do so for years to come but, as there is no show without Punch, there can be no meaningful information service without accurate data collection.1975, Hospital & Health Services Review - Volume 71, page 391
    • Outside, the music could have been little more than a low, muffled rumble, capable of penetrating nothing, certainly not the consciousnesses of the flush-faced Fianna Fáilers and their triumphant champion, or of spoiling their moment with its pointed accusations. This was their show, and there is...1991, John Waters, Jiving At The Crossroads

Origin of no show without Punch

A reference to the Punch puppet in a Punch and Judy show.

Questions about no show without Punch

What does no show without Punch mean?
No show without Punch means a show or endeavor cannot proceed without its star or main purpose.
What part of speech is no show without Punch?
No show without Punch is a phrase.

Words near no show without Punch in the dictionary

  1. no shit, Sherlock
  2. no shot
  3. no show
  4. no show sock
  5. no show socks
  6. no show without Punch
  7. no shows
  8. no side
  9. no siree Bob
  10. no skin off one's back
  11. no skin off one's nose

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: no show without Punch (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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