I ' ve seen go get ' em tigerAnd until next time <| sep |> I agree go get a real second opinion . fucking bread stick <| sep |> I often enjoy splitting hairs , so . The the Italian term , batacchio the name of the wooden club found Commedia Del ' Arte , translates into English as clapper . This is due to a hinge between its two components that allows the batacchio to produce the clapping noise when it ' s motion in one direction is abruptly haltedthe noise emitting from the two parts of the stick coming together , as opposed to a direct result of the stick making contact with its target . Linguistically , there is a subtle difference between clap and slapclap implying a selfimposed selfcontained explosion of sound as in the two hands of one person being clapped together , slap implying a similar explosion dependent on an additional resource the hand of one person striking the face of another . One could propose that were the term directly appropriated from Italian , English speakers would be referring to physical comedy as clapstick comedy . All that aside , I ' m more than content to meet in the middle . Let ' s respectfully observe the influence of Commedia Del ' Arte on Punch Judy ' s origin and let ' s grant the English language this specific bit of slang as a result . Cheers and many thanks for taking a read and broadening the scope of this installment with your added observation , TDOI I ' m using the initials of your username because when I type the full version it reads like I ' m insulting you , which is the exact opposite of this note ' s intent .