plain as a pikestaff

English

Etymology

The word "pikestaff" in this expression is a corruption of packstaff (“the staff used to carry a bundle over the shoulder”).[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Adjective

plain as a pikestaff (not comparable)

  1. (simile) Synonym of plain as day.
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
      ―Don't you know he's dead? says Joe. / ―Paddy Dignam dead! says Alf. / ―Ay, says Joe. / ―Sure I'm after seeing him not five minutes ago, says Alf, as plain as a pikestaff. / ―Who's dead? says Bob Doran. / ―You saw his ghost then, says Joe, God between us and harm.

Translations

References
  1. Cresswell, Julia (2010 September 9) Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins‎, OUP Oxford, →ISBN
  2. Apperson, George Latimer (2006 May 10) Dictionary of Proverbs‎, Wordsworth Editions, →ISBN, page 460
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