Pleased as Punch
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Greatly delighted^Our old friend is always singing with self-satisfaction in his naughty ways, and his evident "pleasure" is contagious to the beholders.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Pleased as Punch” mean?
Greatly delighted^Our old friend is always singing with self-satisfaction in his naughty ways, and his evident "pleasure" is contagious to the beholders.
Is “Pleased as Punch” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.