Brewer's: Pikestaff

Plain as a pikestaff. Quite obvious and unmistakable. The pikestaff was the staff carried by pilgrims, which plainly and somewhat ostentatiously announced their “devotion.” It has been suggested that “pikestaff” is a corruption of “packstaff,” meaning the staff on which a pedlar carries his pack, but there is no need for the change.

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