1988: Tactfulness
Mindful of the conflict between smokers and their detractors she is delicately exploring the possibility that she will be permitted to smoke.
1982: Rewriting the bible with a modern perspective
This cartoon is seeking to modernise the story of Joshua bringing down the walls of Jericho. A drum is set to replace the ram’s horns as described in the bible.
1982: Jane Austen’s darker side?
This joke is based on the utter absurdity of the sentiment expressed by the publisher.
Classic!
1982: Brave or reckless?
I don’t think that the cartoonist is that impressed by the unrealistic expectation of the man in the dinghy.
1982: The façade is peeling
It seems a bit difficult to get the joke here. The wallpaper is peeling so the stone slabs are not real. How does that help the inmates?
Presumably, they could easily break through thin, perhaps not very strong walls.
Or the walls are plasterboard? 
1982: Experimenting with mice
Experimenting with animals is no longer considered to be ethical. Here the joke consists of a fantasy that a Mickey Mouse double should just wander out tunefully. The scientists look impressed.
1982: Outside the crematorium
I think that a garden type of setting is the preferred milieu for scattering the ashes of the deceased. The man in this cartoon looks entirely out of place.
Chancing his arm for payment no doubt. 
1982: The parrot has to go
Christmas is looking desperate for peg leg. He is not willing to sacrifice his other leg and the parrot is not keen on being sacrificed instead.
1982: The devil is in the detail
What could be wrong about this useful conversion? Chances are that the reformed little devil is too enthusiastic about his domestic duties. He has just lifted the husband’s leg in order to hoover the carpet more thoroughly. This enthusiasm is out of place while the couple are trying to relax.
1983: Not transcendental at all
Indian ‘holy’ men were all the rage. Even the Beatles were impressed. Here the guru is shown as a cheap entertainer.
1980: A surprising discovery
The skinheads are amazed to discover that glue is not only meant to be smelt.
1983: Unrealistic expectations on a slave galley
He shouldn’t be surprised.
1981: Cynical view of the after-life
This kind of joke would not have appeared during most of Punch’s existence. These expectations reveal a really jaundiced view of traditional religious doctrine. Today such an approach is quite common place.
If that’s eternity, I remain an atheist.
1984: Animals behaving ‘like’ humans
When animals are portrayed as behaving like humans, we call this anthropomorphism. Here the dog on the left appears to be following this style but in fact his interest is still that of a dog.