Hello friends today we are discuss this question, the question is -“Not a simple jab of the knife/Will do it.”—What does the phrase ‘a simple jab of the knife’ mean? Why can’t a simple jab of the knife ‘do it’?
The phrase ‘a simple jab of the knife’ means a swift blow of the knife.
The stem of a full-grown tree is very strong and the bark of it is very rough and hard. A knife is a weak object compared to the stem of a mature tree. If a knife is used to kill a tree, it can only leave some marks on the bark of it but cannot kill it. Therefore, ‘a simple jab of the knife’ will not be able to serve man’s purpose of killing a tree.