three star, noun phrase

Forms:
Also three stars, and with initial capitals.
slang
In full three star knife. In urban (especially township) English: the proprietory name of a folding knife of German manufacture, having a curved handle ornamented with three stars. Also attributive. See also okapi.
Note:
A favoured weapon of township gangsters.
1952 Drum May 40Apart from the Three Star and the ‘Banana’ knives, they also carry fire-arms of a dangerous kind.
1953 Drum May 41N—, a member of the Koreans, challenged his leader, S—, in ‘Three Star’ (knife) fights all over the township.
[1953 A. Mogale in Drum 25Joe ‘Three Star’ Mokwena who’s very handy at slitting defenseless throats.]
1963 B. Modisane Blame Me on Hist. (1986) 77My daughter will learn that there is no such thing as brotherhood; there are no neighbours, there are only enemies who carry Three-Star knives in the locations and Saracen armed trucks in the white camp.
1963 L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 110One of the leaders became involved in a ‘Three Star’ fight, that is a knife fight.
a1968 D.C. Themba in E. Patel World of Can Themba (1985) 100He sat there on the storm water drain with his mournful face, sharpening gratingly on the concrete his Three Star jack-knife which from some hazy movie memory he called his ‘gurkha’.
1981 M. Tlali in Rand Daily Mail 7 May (Eve) 7He..confronts her with an ugly-looking ‘three-star’ knife and threatens her with death.
1982 M. Mzamane Children of Soweto 85Various mobile stores soon emerged all over the townships and did a roaring business in three-star knives, baby browns, knuckle-dusters.
1988 R.S. Makhaya in Staffrider Vol.7 No.1, 74I eased the kitchen door open My three stars Okapi knife open.
In full three star knife.the proprietory name of a folding knife of German manufacture, having a curved handle ornamented with three stars. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19521988

Browse Related Words

By Category

Household Items
Crime and Gangs

By Usage

slang
three-legged, participial adjectivepart. adj.threethorn, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English