A sharpened bamboo stake, typically one tipped with poison, set in a camouflaged hole in the ground as a means of defence, especially in Southeast Asia.
‘Together they contain 153 upright 11-inch spikes, honed to the sharpness of a Viet Cong punji stake.’
‘We used caltrops, sharpened spikes, punji stakes and pits, ‘Venus flytraps’, abatis ditches, everything we could think of that would slow an attack.’
Origin
Late 19th century punji probably of Tibeto-Burman origin.
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