Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The short fat buffoon or clown in an Italian puppet show.
- noun One who resembles a short fat clown.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun [lowercase] A puppet; specifically, a popular puppet of Italian origin, the prototype of Punch. See
Punch . - noun Any grotesque or absurd personage, likened to the familiar character of the popular comedy in Italy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A punch; a buffoon; originally, in a puppet show, a character represented as fat, short, and humpbacked.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A traditional Italian puppet, in the form of a short fat clown.
- proper noun Somebody who resembles this puppet.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Here’s an Italian fellow come over, too, that they call Punchinello; and, altogether — —”
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When the Baron mouthed he became in expression Punchinello with his finger alongside his nose, his face tightening and knotting into cunning.
Humoresque A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It Fannie Hurst 1928
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_CONANT'S PATENT BINDERS for "Punchinello," to preserve the paper for binding, will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of One Dollar, by
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| CONANT'S PATENT BINDERS for "Punchinello," to preserve the |
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| CONANT'S PATENT BINDERS for "Punchinello," to preserve the |
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| _CONANT'S PATENT BINDERS for "Punchinello," to preserve the |
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If so, you understand the premise behind "Punchinello".
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"Punchinello" features the titular clown and is essentially a song that encourages mirroring.
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Mimi Gross, who designed the white costumes for Dunn's work, drew on Giovanni Tiepolo's lively drawings of "Punchinello," as did Dunn.
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Onstage in the show, Harlequin and Punchinello "traded insults so realistically that they truly appeared to be two thinking beings, two persons of this world."
Knock on Wood Parks, Tim 2009
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