Punch, mid-19th century. "The comic character of Punch takes many forms but most have some of the following characteristics: short stature, large belly, hooked nose, jutting chin, prominent hunchback, a ferocious temper and squeaking voice. His distinctive costume will often feature a tall, conical hat, an oversized ruff, large buttons down his striped front and carrying a wooden slapstick" [1].PUNCHINELLO [1]. AKA – “Punchinello’s Hornpipe.” AKA and see "Flat Cap," “Jock and Tam,” “Lady Susan Montgomery's Hornpipe,” "Knives and Forks," “Rusty Gulley (2),” “Three Case Knives,” “Three Rusty Swords," "Wee Totum Fogg.” English, Triple or “Old” Hornpipe (3/2 time). G Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Offord): AABB (Callaghan): AABBCC (Howe). “Punchinello’s Hornpipe, or Three Rusty Swords” appears in John Offord’s late 20th century publication John of the Greeny Cheshire Way, another setting of which appears in the same volume as “Three Case Knives.” Punchinello, shortened to Punch, was a favorite puppet character for a few centuries. The name Punchinello is a variant of the names Pulcinella, Polichinello, Pollicinella and Polichinelle, and derived from the Italian pulcino, a chicken, which refers to the character’s beak-like nose and his chirpy voice. On the comic stage he was a servant, like the character Harlequin, in the Commedia dell’arte.
