knobkerrie n a short wooden club with a heavy knob on one end; used by aborigines in southern Africa Usage(s) Attacked by her father's pet baboon, she beat it to death with her knobkerrie. Then he let go: eloquence, blunt, polished and effective as an old knobkerrie, the growling, galling scorn for his enemies, the passages of noble purple for his friends. Synonym(s) knobkerry