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In the British Punch and Judy show, Punch wears a brightly colored jester's motley and sugarloaf hat with a tassel.

He is a hunchback whose hooked nose almost meets his curved, jutting chin.

He carries a stick ( called a slapstick ) as large as himself, which he freely uses upon most of the other characters in the show.

He speaks in a distinctive squawking voice, produced by a contrivance known as a swazzle or swatchel which the professor holds in his mouth, transmitting his gleeful cackle.

This gives Punch a vocal quality as though he were speaking through a kazoo.

So important is Punch's signature sound that it is a matter of some controversy within Punch and Judy circles as to whether a " non-swazzled " show can be considered a true Punch and Judy Show.

Other characters do not use the swazzle, so the Punchman had to switch back and forth while still holding the device in his mouth.