trench knife
1
9.0
- noun
- /trɛnʧ naɪf/
- Archaic
:
cuchillo de trinchera
- In the film, the character uses a trench knife to fend off attackers in a dramatic trench battle.
Examples
-
Can't kill but just so many with trench knives, and they had, I'd say the Germans had to walk over piles of their dead to get to us.
-
That's a hard thing to do when a man's got a rifle coming at you, and you know all you've got is a trench knife.
-
Sometimes these were combined: the US Army issued trench knives, fitted with metal knuckle guards and "skull crusher" or "walnut-opener" pommels, to their infantry.
Blog text (9) -
The soldier skillfully wielded his trench knife during the close-quarters combat in World War I.
-
The design of the trench knife was specifically meant for hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches of war.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A tool with a sharp blade and handle used for cutting or as a weapon
103
4.4
A short pointed knife used for stabbing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'trench knife' is transparently built from 'trench' (a narrow defensive ditch) + 'knife' (a cutting blade), so an average B1 learner knowing both words will infer it is a knife associated with trenches or trench warfare. Specific technical details (double-edged blade, close-quarters use) are specialised, but the basic purpose/association is directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Trench knife comes from soldiers fighting in narrow trenches who needed a short, strong knife for very close fighting. So today trench knife means 'a knife used for fighting at very close range'.