1988: Has this woman good reason for her fear?
What does this cartoon mean? Is the elderly woman expressing an entirely irrational fear? Or has she got something to worry about?
Made me smile but I can understand her fear…funny though that she thinks the policeman might be able to help…shame he can’t.
1988: Yet more anthropomorphism
The pretence goes further here with the cat’s owner trying to reason with it.
1980: Knowing about pearly kings
You need to know just one thing about pearly kings to get this joke.
1982: Modernisation in the ancient world
This is another fanciful attempt to introduce modern concepts into the past. The senior Druid is depicted as angry at Roman modernisers turning the Stonehenge pillars into classical columns. No real Romans would have done this.
1998: Is he really that absurd?
Is this for real? Takeover bids do not seem at all likely. Moreover, Miss Wilson does not seem able to fend them off if they occur. On the other hand, he may just be speaking ironically. I prefer the second possibility but perhaps the cartoonist sees him as a Walter Mitty type.
Definitely ironic 
1986: A waiter who knows his job
The customer is always right. She has spotted that this waiter is prepared to pander to this diner’s fantasy that he speaks fluent French.
1986: A delusional hold up
This looks like a joke among professionals. To us it appears that the man presents no threat at all. The joke is probably to do with the relationship between appearance and reality.
1980: Holding the baby
Wrenched from her office job the recent mother makes do with the canary to ‘discuss’ her problem.
Funny how the Canary seems so interested 
1988: Black Magic
I don’t think Voodo is meant to work in this way. The cook has no bad intentions to the hen outside her kitchen.
1991: Not user friendly
A bouncy castle as designed by Vlad the Impaler.
Perhaps they should have one of those at a naughty children’s theme park? 
1988: Is this what we think it is?
Possibly this is a reference to menstruation. ‘Time of the month’ does rather suggest this. But consider the date: 1988. Would Punch even in its later days have wanted to mention this subject, albeit indirectly? It could just have meant that she periodically turned into werewolf. The full moon seen through the window does rather support the werewolf theory.
Think I’d stick with the werewolf theory.
1988: Plants have feelings too…
Just imagine that a plant can tell the gardener to lay off the insecticide.
They’re right, of course.
1986: Ignoring climate change
The dinosaurs are facing extinction with the coming of an ice age and are just playing in the snow. I am now wondering if awareness of our present danger was already understood forty years ago? Is it just chance that this joke appeared then?
Hope all’s well with you Mr. M?